Poor facilities plague forensic lab🔗

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Officials complain about lack of space, outdated instruments and rat menace

The Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) in Chanakyapuri is reeling under a shortage of infrastructure. Among the issues that need attention are lack of space, outdated instruments, and rat menace.

“We were told to operate out of this rented floor in Yashwant Place while the lab in Sheikh Sarai was built. But that never became a reality,” said a senior FSL official. Now, the lab needs an immediate upgrade. The official said there is not enough keep space to keep chemicals or conduct tests. “We store the chemicals in a toilet. The samples are also building up as we receive over 200 cases a month from the south and New Delhi districts,” he said. An increase in the number of labs, he claimed, would help in quick solving of cases.

The instruments are also outdated, he claimed. “We need machines like inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, which is capable of detecting metals, and electron microscope for better results. Recently, we asked for a snake poison testing machine," said the official. He further said that rats from a restaurant located on the first floor of the building wreak havoc in the lab. A report submitted by the FSL to the Delhi government states that the rodents cut wires of instruments and destroy other things.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/poor-facilities-plague-forensic-lab/article18 710296.ece

It is a little counter intuitive, that in general, media gives a very pathetic and low image about FSL. But when it comes to His Divine Holiness Paramahamsa Nithyananda, they stand by the FSL reports (which are double-negative, by themselves!) and discard the highly scientific and detailed US forensic experts reports.

The important thing to understand here is, neither FSL nor US forensic experts report say that the video is real. FSL doesn't give the reasons why it could be real or why it could not be real, it just says, that people in the video 'resemble', and that is it. US Forensic reports go into the minutest details and give 60 reasons why it is fake. But again neither of them say the video is 'real'.

https://www.pri.org/stories/2011-07-07/csi-india-forensics-reach-new-low

Fabricated Video

Four forensic agencies which are often employed by the FBI, investigated the fake video.

1. Edward John Primeau a) A member of AES, ACFEI, and IAI. A Certified Criminal Investigator (CCI) and a Certified Forensic Consultant (CFC), as well as a member of the American Board of Recorded Evidence with the American College of Forensic Examiners International.

Audio & Video Forensic Expert Witness - Primeau Forensics

https://vimeo.com/178492530

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT: I started Primeau Forensics because I saw the amount of media evidence, audio video and image evidence, entering the court system, and love a challenge and love the science behind exploring and investigating the purpose of that evidence. On a daily basis we work with attorneys, police departments, government agencies, and private citizens. Some of the high profile cases we worked on has been the Palace Brawl in Auburn Hills, Michigan, between the Detroit Pistons and the Indiana Pacers. I've been asked to restore the Air Force One recordings the day John F. Kennedy was assassinated, I've worked on the George Zimmerman case after he shot Trayvon Martin in Florida, I've worked on the Michael Brown case.

I think one of the reasons why people come to us is our experience. Over the last 32 years, I've seen just about everything from horrific to heroic, from analogue to digital; audio, video image, other multimedia evidence. A lot of times that evidence is very crucial and extremely important to the case, which is why we developed a proven methodology - identify, clarify, and testify. One of the first things that we do during the identification process is to understand the evidence. What file format is it, does the file structure match the alleged equipment that it was created on, and we proceed with the investigation by understanding the trial strategy and the role that evidence plays at trial. The chain of custody is important. Some of the time we establish that chain of custody by going on an evidence recovery, other times we continue the chain of custody. That lends authenticity to our work product, our opinions, and our testimony, ultimately.

Our clarification processes involve understanding which direction we are going in with regard to the evidence, it can be to authenticate it, it could be to enhance it. If the audio recording has unwanted sounds on it, to clarify is to remove the unwanted sounds so that we can better hear the wanted sounds. Many times it's a conversation. In video, the camera may be further away from the events that occured, so we zoom in on them so that we can better see and hear if that is applicable to the events as they occurred. Some of the time we need to clarify whether the recording is authentic or if it's misrepresenting the events that occurred because somebody decided to remove something out of it. When I testify this is where the rubber meets the road because I bring the forensic investigation, the scientific results and my opinions into the courtroom so the trier of fact can make a decision and weigh that evidence against all the other facts and testimony in the case.

We're qualified as forensic experts because of the training we receive on regular basis, the experience we have working on hundreds of cases throughout the years, as well as the courtroom experience testifying about our findings to the trier of fact. We testify in local, state, and federal courts all over the country and in other courts internationally, and one of the most important things I find about testifying, is preparation. I like to prep with the client attorney before I get on the plane and then, face to face prior to going under oath. Anticipating cross is a very important part of the preparation process. Because that way I understand how my testimony is going to play out based on the attorney's expectations and we understand the objections - where's the elephant in the room. It's very difficult to process your case as an attorney, police officer, private citizen without understanding the role the evidence is going to play in your case. Contact us today so that we can help you interpret the importance and the relevance of your evidence going forward.

b) Authored the book “That’s Not My Voice! A Practical Understanding of the Art and Science of Modern Voice Identification”

c) Asked to restore the air force one recordings the day John F Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States was assassinated. Has worked on the George Zimmerman's case after he shot Trayvon Martin and the Michael Brown case.

See Edward John Primeau's complete C.V.(curriculum vitae) http://primeauproductions.com/Edward%20Primeau%20Expert%20Witness%20CV%20Full.pdf

2. David Notowitz https://www.ncavf.com/ a)Mr. David Notowitz is the founder of NCAVF, based in Los Angeles. NCAVF: National Center for Audio and Video Forensics, a full-service audio and video forensics company based in Los Angeles and providing all levels of consulting and media preparation for evidence used in mediations, arbitration, hearings, and court -- from 3D recreations of crime scenes to video production, and from forensic video enhancement to testifying in court as an expert witness.

b) He is an Emmy award winning producer and multi-faceted video and audio evidence expert.

c)His specialties include news, documentaries, and commercial video production. In 1986 he started Notowitz Productions. He has produced and edited corporate productions for clients such as Fox Broadcasting Company, Yahoo!, GM, The Learning Channel, Rhino Entertainment, Miller Beer, IBM, Disney, Fandango, Frigidaire, Pepperdine University, University of California, City of Santa Monica, and UBS Investment Bank. His company produced award winning films and documentaries, including Voices Of The Shoah: Remembrances Of The Holocaust for Warner Bros., and the Emmy-nominated Carpati, which was named by the San Diego Union Tribune as one of the top ten films of 1997. He was also the editor of the nationally acclaimed 1992 documentary The Last Klezmer.

David Notowitz's Voices of the Shoah is an audio documentary of the Holocaust compiled from over 180 interviews with survivors and witnesses now residing in the U.S. and the U.K. Elliot Gould's narration links the alternately terrifying and inspiring stories of Holocaust survivors, American soldiers, and military rabbis, which Notowitz spent a decade collecting. A moving and dignified work, this first ever audio documentary of the Holocaust makes history as well as preserving it. All the proceeds from Voices of the Shoah benefit the mission of The Jewish Federation of Los Angeles.

d) Mr. Notowitz has worked as a forensic video expert witness on cases investigated by police officers, detectives, private investigators, insurance investigators, public defenders, and criminal defense attorneys with cases across the country. Prominent court work includes his involvement as a video expert with the nationally covered Ivory Webb case. http://www.ncavf.com/case-studies/ivory-webb

e) In late 2013 and early 2014, Mr. Notowitz was the sole audio and video forensic expert on the team defending Fullerton police officers Jay Cicinelli and Manuel Ramos in the death of homeless man Kelly Thomas. After a six week trial ending January 2014, the jury returned a not guilty verdict for both officers, after 6 hours of deliberation. He worked the civil case for the same defendants and Joe Wolfe, a third officer named in the civil case, until the case settled in November 2015. http://www.ncavf.com/blog/video-evidence-plays-crucial-role-in-kelly-thomas-trial/

f) Mr. Notowitz’ most recent high profile criminal case was the March - April 2017 trial People v Downey, Phelps, and Foster, in which three police officers were charged in the pursuit and arrest of a suspect after a two hour, high speed car chase that ended with the suspect stealing a horse and riding it into the high desert. The arrest was captured in high definition by a news helicopter flying overhead.

3. YONOVITZ & JOE, LLP. (http://www.forensicscenter.com/)

a) Yonovitz & Joe has been retained in thousands of cases involving thousands of recordings and testified in state and Federal courts in civil and criminal matters in various countries such as:

b) REPRESENTATIVE LAW FIRMS

d) REPRESENTATIVE CORPORATIONS

e) REPRESENTATIVE MEDIA

f) PUBLIC DEFENDERS

g) PROFESSOR AL YONOVITZ Senior Partner Prof. Al YONOVITZ, Ph.D. His 40 years of teaching and research include appointments at the Speech and Hearing Institute, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, and the School of Public Health at the University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston; Baylor College of Medicine; Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Houston; Conley Speech and Hearing Center, University of Maine; Menzies School of Health Research; consultant to the Veterans Administration Hospital, Houston; Director of the Electronic Prosthesis Laboratory, Mansfield Training School; Research Champion, School of Health Sciences, Charles Darwin University; Dept. of Biomedical Engineering, University of Houston; Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory, Auditory Branch, Groton, CT; former member of the certification and standards committee of the International Association of Identification (IAI). http://coehs.umt.edu/about/People/csd.php?ID=2447

h) ATTORNEY HERBERT JOE Managing Partner Herbert Joe, M.A., J.D., LL.M., B.C.F.E., C.F.C., D.A.B.F.E., D.A.B.L.E.E., F.A.C.F.E. Attorney Joe has 4 degrees, including 2 science degrees (B.S., M.A.) and 2 law degrees (J.D., LL.M.). His 26-year involvement in the area of forensic audio/video includes expert testimony in state and Federal courts in civil and criminal cases throughout the U.S., as well as overseas, giving regional, national and international (CLE) presentations, conducting research and authoring peer-reviewed publications and being interviewed or consulted with by various news and entertainment entities domestically and overseas. Attorney Joe's qualifications include: • Board Certified Forensic Audio/Video Examiner • Certified Forensic Consultant • Diplomat, American Board of Forensic Examiners • Diplomat, American Board of Law Enforcement Experts • Licensed Instructor, Texas Board of Private Investigators • Member, Evidence Code Committee, Oklahoma Bar Association • Member, Law-Related Education Committee, Oklahoma Bar Association • Board Member (former), Forensic Expert Witness Association • Board of Legal Advisors, American Guild of Court Videographers • Charter Member, Legal Advisory Board, American College of Forensic Examiner International • Member, The Commission on Forensic Education • Fellow, American Guild of Court Videographers • Fellow, American College of Forensic Examiners • Certified Mediator • Member, State Bars of Texas and Oklahoma • Registered Patent Attorney, United States Patent & Trademark Office • Registered Patent Agent, Canadian Intellectual Property Office • Member, College of the State Bar of Texas • Member, Summit County (UT) Board of Health • Graduate Faculty (Law), University of Phoenix

4. Bryan Neumeister a) Certified Federal, US District, State, Department of Justice, Civil & Aviation Forensic Expert, 31 Years Professional Experience, USA Forensic Audio & Video Labs.

2017-2018 Bryan Neumeister on BBC & MSNBC TV Series “Real, Fake or Unknown”

b) In a career spanning 37 years across 23 countries, Bryan has racked up an incredible 39 Emmy Awards and 70+ awards for his video work. As if that eren’t enough, these days he is also a court certified video & photographic forensic expert. Clarifying videos in criminal, civil, military and aviation cases so that jurors can see and hear evidence better.

c) Throughout the 1980’s he was a full time helicopter photographer for the station. He logged over 14,000 hours of aerial photography, videography and cinematography from the chopper door.

d) In 1990, he went back to his teenage passion - music. That turned out to be a good move and he wrote many commercials and credited album material with bands such as Blue Oyster Cult.

e) In a career spanning 37 years across 23 countries, Bryan has racked up an incredible 39 Emmy Awards from the National Association of Television Arts and Sciences for Technical Excellence, and 70+ awards for his video work, along with many other industry awards primarily in the documentary field.

A few of the total, 39 Emmy Awards kept that he won on top of the server rack in his office in Phoenix. f) A few things which make him very distinct from other forensic experts is, his ability to use 3D Sonograph and Spectrograph printouts, which allow him to spot and visually explain the “altering of tapes.”

g) Mr. Neumeister has worked on over 200 Forensic Cases since 2010. His non-military court cases include: RICO, Murder, Murder for Hire, Fraud, Robbery, Armed Robbery, Assault with a Deadly Weapon, Arson, Kidnapping, Bank Robbery, DUI, DWI, Civil Cases...etc. He is certified in Military, Federal, State, Civil, and Aviation court.

h) Large Cases include: