How Can Public Defenders Handle Growing Digital Evidence
January 2025
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2 min read
In 2024, public defenders are dealing with a staggering 45 times more digital evidence than they did in 2016. This includes everything from bodycam footage and jail calls to dashcam videos. This growth is overwhelming, requiring hours – sometimes even days – to sift through it all which often pushes their workloads to a grueling 80 hours a week.
A study conducted by IBM estimates that over 90% of criminal cases involve some form of digital evidence. Each case involves gathering and accumulating audio and video discovery, and it’s a process that often requires significant time and effort.
You weren’t trained in law school to handle such large volumes of audio and video. Yet, you’re expected to review it all while managing a packed caseload. Finding the key piece in this mountain of audio and video discovery can often make or break a case. In our conversations with public defenders, they often share that they feel unprepared for the reality of their work, leaving them frustrated and exhausted.
The impact of technology on public defense
Technology has become a double-edged sword. Surveillance tools like body-worn cameras, and dashcams make the police more accountable.
But this explosion of audio and video discovery is overwhelming public defenders like you. Take bodycam footage, for example – it can be invaluable in challenging or validating police testimony, providing a new avenue to argue your case. However, the sheer volume of footage you're expected to review can be staggering. You know the struggle all too well – working with limited resources while the prosecution often has access to high-end tools, fancy equipment, bigger budgets, and more support.
This imbalance can create a two-tiered justice system, where the outcome of a case can depend more on access to technology than on the actual merits of the case.
Modern transcription to the rescue
The Office of Colorado State Public Defender (COPD) was facing a substantial rise in the amount of body-worn camera footage they needed to review. Manually reviewing was taking too much time, and certified transcripts were too expensive and slow.
With the overwhelming volume often arriving in inaccessible formats, many public defenders at COPD found themselves struggling to keep up. The COPD Office tackled this surge by adopting Reduct, enabling public defenders to quickly create fast, accurate transcripts and present video exhibits with synchronized captions, which are highly effective in court.
Reduct breaks down long recordings into smaller sections and generates their transcripts simultaneously. This means that whether you're working with one hour or ten hours of recordings, you can expect a consistent 15-minute turnaround time for your transcripts. When you have accurate transcripts this fast, you can focus on preparing the best defense for your clients without unnecessary delays.
Managing the growing volume of digital evidence may seem overwhelming. This is impacting both the quality of your work and your personal life. But with Reduct's modern transcripts, you can turn audiovisual discovery review into a more manageable task.
