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Evidence Locks for Legal Protection

Evidence Locks for Legal Protection

Evidence locks in XProtect Smart Client protect critical video footage from automatic deletion, ensuring important evidence remains available for investigations, legal proceedings, or compliance requirements.

What Are Evidence Locks?

Evidence locks are legal preservation tools that:

  • Prevent automatic deletion of video recordings

  • Protect related data (audio, analytics) from connected devices

  • Preserve evidence during ongoing investigations or trials

  • Override normal retention policies for specific time periods

Important: Evidence locks protect against automatic system deletion but don't prevent manual deletion by authorized users.

When to Use Evidence Locks

Legal Situations

  • Active investigations requiring evidence preservation

  • Pending litigation where footage may be needed in court

  • Regulatory compliance requiring extended retention

  • Insurance claims needing video documentation

Business Situations

  • Workplace incidents under investigation

  • Safety violations requiring documentation

  • Customer complaints needing evidence review

  • Employee disputes requiring footage preservation

Creating Evidence Locks

From Playback Mode

  1. Switch to Playback mode

  2. Set time range:

    • Click the calendar/clock icon to set start time

    • Click the calendar/clock icon to set end time

  3. Select cameras that captured the incident

  4. Click Evidence lock > Create in the upper-right corner

  5. Fill out the form:

    • Headline: Brief description of why you're locking the evidence

    • Description: Detailed explanation of the incident or investigation

    • Time span: Verify/adjust the start and end times

    • Keep evidence lock for: Choose duration (hours, days, weeks, months, indefinite)

  6. Click Create

From Search Results

  1. Perform a search to find relevant footage

  2. Select video sequences using blue checkboxes

  3. Click the evidence lock icon in the action bar

  4. Complete the evidence lock form (same fields as above)

  5. Click Create

Evidence Lock Settings

Duration Options

  • Hours/Days: Short-term preservation (ongoing investigations)

  • Weeks/Months: Medium-term preservation (legal proceedings)

  • Indefinite: Permanent preservation (major incidents)

  • User-defined: Custom expiration date and time

Additional Options

  • Select cameras: Add more cameras to the same lock

  • Create playback restriction: Limit who can view the footage (advanced feature)

Managing Evidence Locks

Viewing Evidence Locks

From Playback Mode:

  1. Click Evidence lock > View in the upper-right corner

  2. Browse the list of existing evidence locks

  3. Use filters to find specific locks:

    • Lock interval: Today, yesterday, last 7 days

    • Created: When the lock was created

    • Expiry date: When the lock expires

    • Users: Locks created by specific people

    • Cameras: Locks affecting specific cameras

From Live Mode:

  1. Click Evidence lock on the global toolbar

  2. View the same list and filtering options

Editing Evidence Locks

Note: Requires appropriate user permissions

  1. Open the evidence lock list (View > Evidence lock)

  2. Select an evidence lock and click Details

  3. Modify as needed:

    • Time interval: Make shorter or longer

    • Expiration: Extend or reduce duration

    • Description: Update investigation details

  4. Click Update

Playing Back Protected Video

  1. Open evidence lock list

  2. Select the evidence lock you want to review

  3. Click Play back - opens a new window with all cameras

  4. Use normal playback controls to review the footage

Evidence Lock Status Messages

Success Messages

  • Succeeded: Evidence lock created/updated/deleted successfully

  • Only partially successful: Some cameras protected, others failed (see details)

Common Issues

  • Recording server offline: Lock configured but not yet applied

  • Outdated servers: Some servers need upgrading to 2020 R2 or later

  • Permission changes: Administrator modified your permissions after login

Failed Messages

  • All recording servers offline: Wait for servers to come online

  • Management server offline: Wait for management server restoration

  • Insufficient permissions: Contact administrator for access rights

Exporting Evidence-Locked Footage

Evidence locks can be exported for court proceedings or external review:

  1. View evidence locks (Evidence lock > View)

  2. Select an evidence lock from the list

  3. Click Add to export list

  4. Continue with normal export process

  5. Include digital signature (XProtect format) for legal verification

Deleting Evidence Locks

Important: Deleting an evidence lock removes protection - footage may be automatically deleted if past retention period.

  1. View evidence locks list

  2. Select evidence lock(s) to remove

  3. Click Delete

  4. Confirm deletion in the dialog box

System Warning: If footage is older than normal retention time, system will warn you before removing protection.

Best Practices

Creating Evidence Locks

  • Act quickly: Create locks as soon as you identify important footage

  • Be comprehensive: Include all relevant cameras and time periods

  • Document thoroughly: Use detailed headlines and descriptions

  • Plan duration: Consider investigation timelines and legal requirements

Documentation Standards

Headline: "Workplace injury - Loading dock incident 11/15/2023" Description: "Employee slip and fall at 14:32, worker comp claim #WC-2023-1156. OSHA investigation pending. Preserve until claim resolution + 6 months per legal requirement."

Ongoing Management

  • Regular review: Check expiring evidence locks monthly

  • Extend as needed: Update duration for ongoing legal matters

  • Clean up resolved cases: Remove locks when no longer needed

  • Coordinate with legal: Confirm retention requirements with legal team

Compliance Considerations

Legal Requirements

  • Know your obligations: Understand industry retention requirements

  • Document decisions: Keep records of why evidence was locked/unlocked

  • Chain of custody: Maintain detailed logs of who accessed footage

  • Legal holds: Coordinate with legal team on litigation requirements

Data Protection

  • GDPR compliance: Consider privacy implications of extended retention

  • Access controls: Ensure only authorized personnel access protected footage

  • Audit trails: Maintain logs of evidence lock creation/modification

  • Secure storage: Verify system security for long-term retention

Common Scenarios

Workplace Incident

  1. Incident occurs at 2:30 PM

  2. Immediately create evidence lock for 2:00-3:00 PM period

  3. Include all relevant cameras (area cameras, entrance/exit)

  4. Set duration to "indefinite" pending investigation

  5. Document incident details in description field

Customer Complaint

  1. Customer reports incident from last Tuesday

  2. Search for relevant footage from that time period

  3. Bookmark important moments for quick reference

  4. Create evidence lock on key footage

  5. Set duration for expected complaint resolution time

Troubleshooting

Evidence Lock Fails to Create

  • Check permissions: Verify evidence lock permissions with IT

  • Server status: Ensure recording servers are online

  • Camera access: Confirm you have access to selected cameras

  • Time period: Verify recordings exist for the specified time range

Can't View Evidence Locks

  • Permission issue: Contact administrator for viewing rights

  • Filtering too narrow: Broaden search filters

  • System synchronization: Wait a few minutes for system updates

Related Articles:

  • XProtect Smart Client - Creating and Managing Bookmarks →

  • XProtect Smart Client - Exporting Video Evidence →