Recent Book: The Camera: Photographic Evidence
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X6704001007 |
| Author | T. Lockley |
| Date | 01 October 1967 |
| Published date | 01 October 1967 |
| Subject Matter | Recent Book |
HELP FOR STUDENTS
E. R.
BAKER
and
G. H. WILKIE: Police Promotion Handbooks.
No.4.
Administration and Organization. Butterworths. 18s. 6d.
This latest addition to a useful
series contains
much
information of
value to students.
The
discerning
among
them will sense
the
limita-
tions of a
potted
version
and
if their
energies and discrimination rise to
the occasion there is plenty of sti-
mulus within its pages to urge them
to look further for sources
and
practice in an
attempt
to develop
through understanding
and
insight
as distinct from learning by rote.
The
text is as current as the com-
pilers
could
be expected to achieve,
allowing for the problems of pre-
sentation
and
printing,
but
it
must
be frustrating to them and to any
who assemble such material to find
the ink hardly dry before amend-
ments become due. Examples are
to be found, for instance, in
Home
Office circulars 26
and
31/1967 (use
of Police Federation funds in traffic
proceedings against members
and
in defamation proceedings), in
81/1967 (the supply of information
from police records for civil pro-
ceedings),
and
in 111/1967 (special-
ist Inspectors of Constabulary).
Students, therefore, who have access
to such circulars, who
make
a care-
ful study of the police press
and
the
responsible daily press,
and
who
read
their promotion
handbook
in
conjunction with them
ought
to be-
come well-equipped for their ulti-
mate
test.
It
sounds horribly pedantic to
single
out
a single spelling mistake
in such a field of application
and
effort,
but
it would be tragic if an
examination candidate failed by
one
mark
in mis-spelling
"supernumer-
ary"
according to the example on
page 65! H. J.
PONSFORD
THE CAMERA
S. G.
EHRLICH
and
LELAND
V.
JONES:
Photographic Evidence.
Maclaren
and
Sons. 90s.
I am by no means an expert
photographer,
but
I
have
had
sufficient experience
of
the
art
to
'realize
what
it can do to establish
truth
and
by so doing aid justice.
The
authors of this
book
are
Americans and
both
have specialized
in the presentation
of
photographic
evidence in all types of courts
and
in all types
of
cases in the United
States, but,
for
the record, in addi-
tion to other
good
qualifications,
one
is a fellow of the
Royal
Micro-
scopical Society (London)
and
the
other served for
more
than
20
years in the scientific investigation
division of the Los Angeles police
department. In my view they
both
know
what
they are writing about.
The
book
deals with all kinds of
photography
of use in litigation in
both civil
and
criminal courts
and
all processes are thoroughly dealt
with
from
the
setting up of the
camera
to the presentation
of
the
exhibit.
The
coverage is very com-
prehensive indeed and includes
time factors in procuring photo-
460
graphs, cost, cameras, filters, lenses.
lighting. film making, scenes of
accidents
and
crimes, property lines
and
terrain, fires, floods, atmos-
pheric conditions. prisoners and
many
other items.
Of
particular
interest to modern policemen
are
notes on aerial
photography
which
Ianticipate will
play
an increasing
part
in police work of
the
future.
Ithink
the
book
is a splendid
one
and
would act as a very valu-
able
work
of reference in any police
photographic
department. So
far
as I am aware
there
is no compar-
able
work
in this country.
Apart
from
the technical information
which the authors give,
they
in-
clude upwards of 150 photographs.
These photographs relate mainly to
civil cases, but they nevertheless
illustrate basic principles which
could be of great help in criminal
work.
There
is a very concise
and
explicit text and much excellent
advice on equipment. techniques,
lighting, films, processing, printing,
etc. T.
LOCKLEY
October /967
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