> If the cop says you were 6ft away and you say you were 8, who are
they going to believe?
The video footage. Image analysis along with metadata is sufficient
to determine the viewpoint.
> Does it really matter, you are already going to jail and your phone
was unfortunately damaged in the arrest which you were also
resisting.
5G, and perhaps within a few years the new civilian internet
satellites, will evolve this situation. Constantly uploading/syncing
video and images to secure remote storage is something war journalists
have long sought. By the time someone with a gun threatens you to
delete things you can go through the theatre of complying, or they can
even destroy your device, but it's too late for them.
I am wondering whether down-voters disagree or don't understand how
forensic video analysis can accurately pinpoint the positions of
objects from perspective when the camera and lens model are known?
It really doesn't matter if they have the evidence to convict you. They can arrest you and put you in jail for a night or 2. You have to pay for an attorney to fight the charges or use a public defender who will probably just advise you accept a guilty plea. You could potentially lose your job. If you have a security clearance that's potentially gone too. Your life can be ruined and when you get to trial a year or so later and you present all the evidence, maybe you are found innocent. At that point the damage is done and it cost the cops nothing.
Also another fun fact is cops in the US don't actually have to know the law they can just claim they thought they were enforcing the law. So they can do pretty much anything up to a pretty arbitrary line of egregiousness and just shrug if told they were wrong and walk away career unscathed.
It's not about the technical details, it's about the fact that before you'd ever have a chance to present such an argument, you already are liable for a fine And jailtime (30 days).
It doesn't matter what might end up happening later, the upfront cost of recording is now very real and there is a chance to get starved out of money to even try to take such an item to court.
The tech might be undeniable, but it doesn't matter if there is a buffer in front of the system that would accept such tech as evidence, and said buffer could delay your chance to succeed by months if not years.
It doesn't really matter how good the tech is if the system where it would help can stall out the situation beyond your means to live.
I see. What you say makes sense and I agree with it. Technical
solutions to socially rooted problems are skin deep and don't address
the real issues. Good technology won't fix a crap law.
As a Brit I give the police and legal system much more leeway and
benefit of the doubt, they've got a job to do and mostly do their
best. Also, I believe they should never shy from accountability,
hence being filmed by the public, as the police often do to citizens,
is an inescapable part of the job today. And if that gets a bit too
"in your face" then maybe it's time to look for a job that suits you
better.
Nonetheless, the police can no longer lie with impunity against
sophisticated technical evidence. We are all changed by technology and
possible forensic evidence we never thought possible, and that can
keep people more honest.
The police aren't always the sharpest knife in the drawer when it
comes to technology. Here in the UK, Wayne Couzens, the policeman who
raped and killed Sarah Everard, was caught by technical carelessness
that you'd have thought he knew better about.
The video footage. Image analysis along with metadata is sufficient to determine the viewpoint.
> Does it really matter, you are already going to jail and your phone was unfortunately damaged in the arrest which you were also resisting.
5G, and perhaps within a few years the new civilian internet satellites, will evolve this situation. Constantly uploading/syncing video and images to secure remote storage is something war journalists have long sought. By the time someone with a gun threatens you to delete things you can go through the theatre of complying, or they can even destroy your device, but it's too late for them.