Facing any type of criminal charges in San Jose is a serious matter. With the potential for heavy fines and jail time, you need an experienced San Jose, CA criminal defense attorney on your side. In an effort to put a dent in the high crime rates experienced throughout the area, law enforcement officials are increasingly focused on apprehending offenders, while prosecuting attorneys are aggressive in making charges stick.
Local business and property owners have also gotten involved and are becoming more vigilant both in reporting crimes and making an effort to identify suspects. Video recordings are being used more regularly and can end up providing damaging evidence in your criminal court case.
San Jose Merchants Use Video Recordings To Help Curb Crime In Area
The San Jose area has been plagued by increasing crime rates, and local merchants took a drastic stand recently in calling attention to the problem. A November 2018 NBC Bay Area report states that after a year of dealing with problems such as prostitution, drug dealing, and assaults in front of their establishments, merchants on Monterey Highway released surveillance videos taken on their property to the press. Contained within the videos includes evidence of the following:
- An individual breaking into a van parked in one of the merchant’s parking lots;
- An employee who was a victim of a carjacking;
- Acts of vandalism, resulting in property damages; and
- A theft, during which more than $50,000 worth of merchandise was stolen.
Video as Evidence in Your Criminal Case
The business owners claim they are frustrated with the city’s inability to put a stop to these and other types of crimes, which are harming their businesses. They released the videotapes as a way of alerting the general public to the problem. It also serves as an alert to those facing criminal charges in San Jose that there may, in fact, be hard evidence linking them to a crime.
Under the California Penal Code, business and residential property owners have the right to install surveillance devices on their property. Advances in technology have made these devices both cost-effective and easy to install, with the benefit of high definition video quality. Their small size and the ability to place them in virtually any location makes them hard to spot. If you are facing any type of criminal charges in San Jose, there is a strong chance that video recordings may be used by the prosecuting attorney against you to obtain a conviction in your court case.
Contact Our San Jose, CA Criminal Lawyers for Help
At the Jachimowicz Law Group, we provide the strong legal defense you need when facing criminal charges. Depending on the situation, we may be able to dispute the validity of video recordings, whether they identify you as a suspect, and if they are admissible in court.
To get our legal team fighting on your side, contact our dedicated San Jose, CA criminal law attorneys at our office and request a free consultation today.
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