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Reynoldsburg Police Processes Hundreds of Videos with VFPro

by Detective Brian Marvin,
Reynoldsburg Police Department

About Reynoldsburg - The city of Reynoldsburg, Ohio, sits in the eastern edge of Columbus, Ohio, and has a population of approximately 34,000. The city is largely residential, with multiple businesses peppered throughout and one large shopping district. The Reynoldsburg Division of Police employs approximately 53 sworn officers and 16 non-sworn personnel.

The Challenge - Reynoldsburg Division of Police originally acquired VideoFOCUS Pro from Salient Stills at a time when evidentiary video was predominantly being recovered from multiplexed, time-lapsed VHS tapes. The department needed a means of processing a wide variety of VHS formats it was receiving as evidence, but also required a video forensics solution that was "user friendly," so that a large amount of technical knowledge was not needed to render useful still images and video segments.

The solution was VideoFOCUS Pro. After researching multiple systems, it was determined that VideoFOCUS Pro was most suited to the department's needs. The system is affordable, easy to use, and required minimal resources to run.

The Results - Since its acquisition, VideoFOCUS Pro has been an invaluable tool in the department's arsenal. Reynoldsburg Division of Police has processed hundreds of videos over the years and turns to VideoFOCUS Pro several times each week to extract still images and video evidence for investigations and prosecutions of cases.

VideoFOCUS Pro is used to extract video and images from the simplest theft complaint, to homicide investigations, and almost every offense in between. The value of having the ability to immediately be able to use recovered video evidence in the Department's investigations cannot be expressed enough.

The Solution - As the video formats have changed from VHS tape to digital formats VideoFOCUS Pro has not missed a step. It offers simple to use video import as well as video capture utilities well suited for today's digital video evidence. It also provides excellent de-multiplexing, still image extraction, video evidence exportation, and several other useful tools.

Throughout its development, VideoFOCUS Pro has maintained its simplicity and ease of use. No special skill sets are required to run the system, unlike many similar tools. Several law enforcement agencies neighboring Reynoldsburg have invested in high dollar, complex systems, mistakenly thinking that the high price tag and complexity must equate to a better system. This turned out not to be true, as these systems sit idle for lack of personnel able to effectively operate the systems, due to their complexity and required technical knowledge.

The only caution here is to be realistic in expectations. Oftentimes it is requested that a blurred license plate, face, etc., be cleared up when there is no detail to begin with. This software cannot create what does not exist, nor should it. The basic rule of thumb is that if a bad video goes in, bad results will come out. This is not to say that some enhancements and clarity cannot be achieved, but it is important to realize that the enhancements portrayed on TV and in the movies are not feasible in the real world.

It should also be noted that in addition to offering a very useful and effective product, Salient Stills' customer service has provided Reynoldsburg Division of Police exceptional support over the years. Reynoldsburg Division of Police was not ignored after the initial purchase and any issues the department had have been addressed in a timely fashion, if not immediately. Product support personnel have been knowledgeable and responsive since initial contact, and have continued to offer competent support to this day. -

About Salient Stills
Founded in 1997, Salient Stills is a leading video forensics and image enhancement software company.  Salient Stills introduced its technology to answer the need for an efficient and effective video image enhancement solution.  VideoFOCUS Pro and VF Source are video forensics solutions in use by law enforcement, security and military and intelligence agencies. 

For more information on Salient Stills visit http://www.salientstills.com/.