Communication through digital images

inForum 2011, 12 September 2011Troy Pullen, Policy Officer, Queensland State Archives

Presentation outline• background to development of guidelines

– CCTV– digital images

• recordkeeping principles and key considerations

• overview of guidelines and examples of use in Queensland

Business need

• high volume of information captured and retained through digital technologies

• need for whole-of-Government IM advice to address:– recordkeeping

– evidence requirements

Digital images in Queensland

• Queensland Rail• taxis• busway network• Brisbane CitySafe

Challenges with digital technology• rapid changes in technology

– continual obsolescence issues– formats

• storage• privacy• risks

– legal– financial– business

Recordkeeping risks• unlawful disposal or disposal despite

ongoing business need• inability to manage records for authorised

retention periods • lack of recordkeeping metadata captured• damage to the authenticity and integrity of

the records

Project – Guidelines for managing digital images

• a consistent whole-of-Government position through endorsedguidelines

• an agreed policy position developed through collaborative efforts to ensure: – authenticity of information

– integrity of records

– clear direction

– mitigation of Government risk

• supported by Queensland Government ICT Innovation Fund

• Information Standard 40: Recordkeeping– accurate– authentic– accessible– inviolate– meaningful

Protecting Principles of Recordkeeping

Queensland’s Privacy Reforms• Information Privacy

Act (2009)• Sch. 3 & 4: Information

Privacy Principles (IPPs)• fair collection & handling

of personal information in public sector environment

• statutory right for individuals to access & amend their personal information

Storage&

Security

Disclosure

Use Accuracy

Amend-ment

Openness

Access

Collection

Stakeholders• State Government

– e.g. Police, Corrective Services, sports facilities, schools, hospitals, spatial information

• Local Government – e.g. management of public space, safety within

buildings

• GOCs (ports, energy facilities), universities

Guideline for Managing Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) Records

• to manage CCTV records, it is important to:– meet legislative and regulatory requirements– provide appropriate organisational framework

• ensure CCTV records are fit for purpose– maintain, preserve and lawfully dispose

System design

• purpose of surveillance will dictate:• camera location and field-of-view• storage requirements• image resolutions• complementary security strategies

Create&

Capture

Use Store

Retrieve

Dispose

Primary, original, working images

• primary image– first instance an image is recorded

• original image– exact binary copy of primary image

• working image– a copy of primary or original image where file format may be

changed through compression, enhancement, filtering, cropping etc.

Australasian Guidelines for Digital Imaging Processes (SMANZFL)

Create&

Capture

Use Store

Retrieve

Dispose

Capture

Create&

Capture

Use Store

Retrieve

Dispose

Must take all reasonable steps

to ensure the PI is up to date and

complete.

Must take all reasonable steps to ensure collection does not intrude

unreasonably into their personal

affairs.

Must take all reasonable steps

to ensure the PI is relevant for the

purpose of collection.

Individual must be told who the PI will be disclosed to, if anyone, and who that person

will disclose it to, if anyone.

Individual must be told if the PI is

being collected under a legal

authority and, if so, the detail of the authority.

Individual must be told why the PI is being collected.

Must not be done in a way that is

unfair or unlawful.

Must be for a lawful purpose

directly related to the agency's functions.

Collection of personal

information

(IPPs 1-3)

Usage considerations

• operation logs– verify date and time, recording quality, media

insertion and removal, operator ID• maintenance logs

– system’s service history• access logs

– viewing history including refusal– image provision to third parties and law enforcement

Create&

Capture

Use Store

Retrieve

Dispose

Storage considerations

• secure server vs. WORM• data migration• search ability• longevity• security• administration and maintenance issues

Create&

Capture

Use Store

Retrieve

Dispose

Retrieval considerations

• download register• if proprietary software, a copy for viewing• use and disclosure

– privacy requirements

Create&

Capture

Use Store

Retrieve

Dispose

Retention and disposal

• determined by legislative and operational requirements• Queensland’s General Retention & Disposal Schedule

for Administrative Records:– ‘records not required for investigations should be retained until

reviewed and verified that they are no longer required for administrative purposes’

– records required for investigations should be retained until 12 months after the finalisation of judicial or investigative proceedings, whichever is the later’

Create&

Capture

Use Store

Retrieve Dis

pose

CCTV in Queensland• CCTV in taxis

CCTV in Queensland• Queensland Rail CCTV

CCTV in Queensland• Urban landscape

Risks - making CCTV available• manage CCTV footage so does not unintentionally

become available to public e.g. YouTube• in general, YouTube

– reserves right to interrupt services• effects stability of government web pages when viewing embedded

videos– includes links to other videos and advertising

• may include irrelevant, inappropriate and offensive clips– licences do not automatically terminate once video is

removed– embedded players do not meet mandatory standards for

accessibility• by submitting gives YouTube broad licence to reproduce,

distribute and prepare derivative works of video

Guideline for Managing Digital Photographic Images

• choosing the most appropriate image:– what will the image be used for?– file formats?– image sizes?– compression?

Create&

Capture

Use Store

Retain&

Dispos

e

Guideline for Managing Digital Photographic Images

• retain only those images that provide the best evidence of business activity

• consider whether:– images are in focus– light levels are adequate– photographs are available elsewhere– photos relate to / enhance collections– images have any intrinsic / long term value

File formats• TIFF• PNG• JPEG• Adobe DNG

8

Image quality• quality of images are determined at

the time of capture by two factors:

1. spatial resolution (pixel size - ppi)

2. brightness resolution (pixel bit depth)– or how many bits of information each pixel will

capture

High bit colour 24 Bit (16.7 million colours) Low bit colour 4 Bit (16 colours)

Image capture• 2 Megapixel

– 2 million pixels per image – low image quality

• 5 Megapixel– 5 million pixels per image– good image quality prints up to A4

• 10 Megapixel– 10 million pixels per image– very good image quality prints A1+

Pixel and image resolution

• low image quality and low pixel dimension– allows you to potentially store thousands of images

on a memory card• high image quality and high pixel dimension

– allows you to potentially only store a few hundredimages on the same memory card

Image resolution

Low quality (72 ppi) High quality (300 ppi)

Low quality (72 ppi) High quality (300 ppi)

Low resolution 72 ppi High resolution 300 ppi

Compression• lossless

– reconstructed image is identical to the original, no image data is lost

• lossy– image data is sorted into important and un-

important data and the unimportant data is discarded

– image is different to the original, and changes are unalterable

Compression• Image compression reduces the size of a digital image by

identifying similar pixel patterns and by re-sampling and re-coding that group of pixels with just the one pixel and colour value.

50 different colour blue pixels = 1 same colour blue

Medium image quality Medium compression

Low image quality Maximum compression

High image quality Low compression

Medium compression Maximum compression

Digital images in Queensland

• speed cameras

Digital images in Queensland• archives

– crocodile attack, 1932

Photos courtesy of the Queensland Police Museum

Best practice examples

Outcomes of project• first Australian state to have

comprehensive recordkeeping guidelines of this type for the whole of the public sector

• a collaborative effort to meet diverse objectives

• Creative Commons licensing

More information

• Queensland State Archives– Guideline for Managing Closed Circuit

Television (CCTV) Records– Guideline for Managing Digital Photographic

Imageshttp://www.archives.qld.gov.au/government/Publicationsbytype.asp