Which best practice ensures that photographs and other media remain admissible over time?

• A. Maintain an unbroken chain of custody and preserve originals; document time and place.
• B. Delete originals after duplicating them.
• C. Re-edit media to fit the narrative.
• D. Store media in a private cloud without audit logs.

Answer: (A)

The essential practice is to maintain an unbroken chain of custody and preserve the originals, while documenting the time and place of collection. This creates a clear provenance and ensures the media’s integrity, so a court can trust that the files are authentic and have not been altered or substituted. Keeping the originals intact provides a baseline for verification, and recording when and where the material was gathered, as well as who handled it, creates an auditable trail that supports admissibility over time.

Deleting originals after duplicating them compromises authenticity because there’s no verifiable source to prove the copies came from the original material. Re-editing media alters content and undermines integrity, which can make the media suspect as evidence. Storing media in a private cloud without audit logs removes any record of access or changes, making it impossible to demonstrate proper handling.