Obtaining Surveillance Video Through a Mirror?

Here is a memo that I've just sent to my surveillance investigators regarding taking video shots through mirrors. A friend of mine had to testify in a case as an expert witness where an investigator had taken video through a mirror and in some video shots, the cast was on opposite legs. My friend, an investigator also, watched the video over and over again and couldn't figure out what was wrong and why the cast was on opposite legs. However, in a 4 minute span when the cast was on one leg, in the other next video shot it was on the opposite leg. My friend asked his client, the subject's attorney if his client was a quick dresser because within 4 minutes the cast went from one leg to the other. Still unable to figure it out, my friend continued watching the video and at a split second, my friend stopped the video and the investigator shooting the video caught a portion of a stop sign and the "p" was backwards on the stop sign. That's when they figured it out that the video was shot through a mirror.

The investigator that had taken the video documented in his report that the subject was wearing the cast on the opposite leg hoping to gain an advantage to his client that the injury was fabricated. That is nothing but dishonesty and against ethics for private investigators. While we all, at times, shoot video through mirrors, I've made it our policy to document in the report that the video is shot through the mirrors and that the angle may be reversed. Any report is a good report as long as its based on actual facts and events. Here is the memo that I sent out to all of our employees:

To All Employees and Sub-Contractors: When videotaping through the any mirror on your vehicle, we must document it in our report that the video was shot through the mirror. When shooting through a mirror, the image is reversed and while it would be more prevalent in a worker's compensation or injury case, it is now our policy to document obtaining video through a mirror in our reports all video that is taken through mirrors on all cases. If you have any questions or comments regarding this policy, please do not hesitate to contact me. -KM


It is my company's policy that when shooting through a mirror to not only document it in the report, but to also back the zoom off periodically to show on the video that the scene is being shot through a mirror. Remember: OBJECTS IN MIRROR ARE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR -JD