Coast Guard to use digital photos as evidence for trials

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TOKYO, Aug. 2 Kyodo -
The Japan Coast Guard will begin shooting incidents and accidents it handles
with digital cameras Monday instead of film cameras for use in courtrooms,
Coast Guard sources said Sunday.
The first such move by any of Japan's investigative authorities is expected to
cut costs by 8 million yen a year and eliminate the time it takes to develop
photos at shops, according to the sources.
To date, the Coast Guard has used film single-lens reflex cameras due to
concerns over possible doctoring of digital images. But last year a company
developed a memory card that secures a photo as soon as it is taken to prevent
forgery or erasure. A camera compatible with the new card has also become
available.
The Coast Guard and the prosecutors' offices have already agreed that photos
taken with such a camera can be used as evidential material.
The Coast Guard has passed out a total of 1,600 digital cameras to its vessels
and crew members across Japan.
Last year, the Coast Guard sent a total of 40,000 rolls of film costing 28
million yen to the prosecutors' offices.
About 90 percent of the photos were developed by outside contractors so the
process was time-consuming, according to the sources.
The National Police Agency is due to follow suit by using new digital cameras
during the current fiscal year ending next March.
==Kyodo
2009-08-02 21:07:32