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To keep pace with the rapid development of digital technology, the Force has adopted digital photography for investigation and evidential purposes since 2012 and its application has been expanded to cover various aspects of police work in the past decade.
In order to enhance the operational efficiency of frontline officers in taking digital images for work and support the Force’s Strategic Direction of “Embracing the Use of Technology for Policing in the Digital Age”, the Crime Wing and the Information Systems Wing (ISW) have collaboratively developed a centralised photo management system known as the Case Photo Repository (CPR) and a mobile application known as the Secure Camera App, which were rolled out to formation users on September 14, 2021.
The CPR is a comprehensive image management system which allows officers to organise a large volume of digital images in a secure and easily accessible platform. Following its rollout, case photos for investigation and evidential purposes in digital format can be easily uploaded, managed and submitted for printing via any Departmental Portal terminal in any police station. Senior Superintendent of the Innovation and Solution Lab of ISW Dr Hui Chun-wai who is in charge of the development of CPR said, “The chain of evidence of digital images can be maintained by adopting digital signature and hashing algorithm during file transfer and storage. To ensure data availability, CPR data are triplicated in three storage devices in different locations. Backup hardware is on standby in case of a failure in primary servers. Last but not least, the print request function has significantly reduced the time and effort of physical delivery of printing memos. With CPR, the whole process including image transfer to the system, retrieval, printing, and even disposal can be streamlined.”
Meanwhile, the Secure Camera App was specifically designed to meet the operational needs of frontline officers, which allows them to capture case-related digital images using Force-issued smart devices. Digital images taken by the Secure Camera App can be easily and securely uploaded to CPR.
In order to familiarise users with the two new systems and the revised standard operating procedures on digital photography, the Identification Bureau (IB) conducted three Force-wide briefing sessions for a total of 464 officers. Relevant training materials are available at Central Educational Repository (CERT), the Force’s internal video sharing platform “P-TV” and IB’s website on the Police Intranet.
With the introduction of the new systems, the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the Force’s digital images have been greatly enhanced, thereby increasing the efficiency in investigation and law enforcement.
