The Role of Surveillance Footage in Defending Assault Cases

Sometimes surveillance footage may be useful in defending an assault case (or another type of criminal case). Sometimes the footage may be less useful or even non-existent. In today’s blog article, we are going to talk about the role of surveillance footage for the defence.

Does Surveillance Footage Exist?

The first consideration is whether there is any surveillance footage. Whatever crime the accused has been charged with may or may not have been caught on camera.

So, the question becomes is there any surveillance footage before, during, or after the crime such as video from someone’s phone, or cameras on a street corner, or cameras that a home or business may have installed.

For the purposes of the defence, does this footage show definitively whether the accused was at the scene of the crime. Was the accused not there? Was someone else there instead?

Depending on whether the footage also captures sound, the footage could show whether a crime was premeditated or perhaps provoked.

Then there is the question of whether the footage is reliable, as in were proper protocols followed to obtain it, and a chain of custody. Footage might show something damaging to the defence, but the footage may not be allowed into evidence.

There are so many factors that play into the importance (or not) of surveillance footage. Is the footage clear and in focus? If not, that footage may not be of any use to anyone.

When you hire a criminal lawyer, this lawyer is going to examine every possible inch of footage and every possible angle of whether it could be useful to the defence or not in addition to all the other types of evidence that may be available. Rely on your lawyer. This is his or her area of expertise. 

If you have been charged with assault, please contact Gagan Nahal for a free consultation in Vancouver at (604) 527-4769 as soon as possible. Mr. Nahal’s law practice focuses on criminal defence law, and he has extensive experience in this area of the law. 

Gagan Nahal is a criminal defence lawyer based in Surrey, British Columbia, although he has represented clients across Canada. He works vigorously and tirelessly defending his clients. 

If you have any questions about this article or you would like to talk to Mr. Nahal, please call him directly at (604) 527-4769.