KEY DEFINITIONS Defined: Elements of a Crime Every crime is broken down into very specific elements that need to be proved. To secure a conviction, a lawyer must prove every individual element, one-by-one. If FILMING there are five elements of a crime and the lawyer only proves four, then the defendant should go free. For example, to prove a defendant is guilty of a robbery a lawyer must demonstrate that: 1. Property was taken or carried away; 2. The defendant committed the taking; 3. The property does not belong to the defendant; 4. The property was taken using force or fear; 5. The defendant intends to permanently deprive the owner of his/her property. Defined: Relevance In order to be considered evidence, a video has to be “relevant”. This simply means that the evidence has to help prove one of the elements of the crime. Another way to think about relevance is this – when you are creating a plan, ask yourself what information could help an investigator, a lawyer or judge understand what happened? If it helps with FOR MORE INFORMATION understanding, it’s likely relevant. A Straight Forward Example If the defendant is on trial for robbery, the surveillance footage from the store showing the defendant taking products off the shelf and hiding them in a bag is relevant because it goes to proving elements of the crime – the defendant took property that was not theirs. If you also have video footage of the defendant exceeding the speed limit, in a See Elements of a Crime & Relevance in “All About the Law” at: bit.ly/ WITNESSLibrary_ VaE school zone, five years prior to the robbery incident, this video is totally unrelated to the robbery charge, and thus not relevant. It’s as simple as that. 80 VIDEO AS EVIDENCE: COLLECTION PLAN V 1.0