One of the most fundamental requirements of a civil society is the rule of law which means that the people must follow the law of the land irrespective of his or her status or position in the society. In the modern world, the developed countries feel proud that their society is governed by the rule of law while most developing countries like India feel ashamed that their society does not have the rule of law. The developed countries are the role model for the underdeveloped countries, where the rule of law is still a distant dream.

Societies that follow rule of law are often considered more civilized as there is much more order in the society. Every thing in such societies appears to be in order. The roads are clean, lawns and parks are well-maintained, government officials work in office, trains and public transports run on time. Further, there is virtually no corruption in public offices. People are well paid, deliver better efficiencies and keep everything neat and clean. These societies appear perfect to the people of other parts of the world, who often wonder why they can’t be like them.

All societies need laws for their existence. Even though the laws may be different in each society, yet there are some basic principles that are common to all laws of the world. These fundamental principles are equality, fraternity, justice and liberty. The Indian constitution, for example, incorporates these goals in the preamble to the constitution which seeks to secure for all its citizens justice, liberty, equality and to promote among them the spirit of fraternity.

These principles are so universal in nature that they find place in every civilized society of the world. It is matter of great surprise that in reality the outcome of the rule of law is just the opposite. The more civilized a society is, the more is the inequality among its population – more injustice to the have-nots, less liberty due to strict enforcement of law and more hatred among the citizens based on race, caste and religion. What goes wrong in the implementation in the so-called rule of law?

Law of Nature

Indian thinkers in the Vedic period, i.e. around 3000 years before the birth of Christ, discovered that the universe does not perform its functions at random but follows certain laws. These were called “Rita” or the universal laws or principles that guided the universe. The progress of man can be largely attributed in understanding these basic principles of nature and exploiting them for the benefit of the human race at the cost of the rest of the creations. The laws of man, therefore, run contrary to the laws of nature as they are human-centric and not designed for all the creations of God or Nature.

One of the basic differences between man-made-laws and the laws of Nature is that the laws of nature are spontaneous as they require no effort in implementation. For example, in a natural piece of earth like a forest, the earth produces trees, plants, fruits and vegetables spontaneously without any need of watering or breeding. The nature itself provides timely rain and fertilizer to the new plants. The forests and the mountains are covered with greenery and beauty, which is purely natural since it comes without any effort.

On the contrary, the man-made creations like parks, trees, plants are artificially made. They too may look as beautiful as the natural ones, yet they cannot survive without regular effort on the part of man. Imagine a park, which is not maintained for a few months, or a house not cleaned for months. It will lose all its beauty and soon be filled with dust and weeds. No building or modern gadget can survive without external effort from man. However, all natural creations are able to survive on their own and maintain their existence; and enjoy their life without any external support.

The laws of nature are just as they treat every specie (and not only man) with equality. In a jungle, every specie gets its due share of food, air and water which enable them to live a dignified life without being dependent on any other creation. Nature makes no distinction between one specie, and the other as all species are the children of the same God.

However, in the man’s world, every other creature is killed if it is not useful for man. They can survive only if they can be useful for man. Thus man’s world does not treat any other creature of the nature with respect and does not provide them any right of equality, liberty, justice or fraternity. He cleverly usurps this universal law and makes it applicable only for human beings. For all other lesser species, he has created a man-made-law, calling it ‘the law of jungle’ or ‘the survival of the fittest’ which justifies his domination over the weak creations. The fact, on the contrary, is that the laws of jungle are far more just and equal for all species than the man-made-law.

Most men are not concerned about the way they treat the lesser animals as they feel that ‘the survival of the fittest’ theory is more logical than the laws of nature. However, they forget that every principle created in the universe has to be applied on them also and that they may not always be a beneficiary. Man-made-laws do not stop with animals but they soon spread their wings to encompass human beings, too. This is where conflicts between man and man starts that gives rise to hatred and wars. Man feels the pinch when the law of jungle is applied against them and the law of nature is denied to him. He is hurt when he is treated like weeds by the society.

Weeds: The Undesirable Plants of Nature?

One of the most interesting creations of the natural world is weed. Weeds are undesirable vegetation in the kingdom of plants. Weeds are defined as any plant that is not valued by the human society and usually tends to overgrow or compete with valued flora. Weeds are the plants which are considered by human beings as unattractive, undesirable, or troublesome.

In the natural world, man has to continuously fight against weeds to make their artificial plants survive. Weeds grow automatically and if the artificial gardens do not have the support of man, it is soon overpowered by weeds and the whole field or garden becomes full of weeds. Weeds are created by Nature (God) as no human effort is required to grow them. They are, however, so powerful that man has to continuously guard his creation from these weeds, lest all creation of the civilized society is destroyed. Weeds are as undesirable to man in the world of plants as criminals in the human society.

Criminals: The Necessary Evil for the Civil Society

Similar to weeds in the natural world, there is a growth of criminals in civilized societies. Who these criminals are? Why do they grow? Whether the criminals are healthy people or are they mentally ill as often thought by the civilized world?

Criminals are defined as the people who commit crime. Crime is defined as an act that is a violation of the criminal law that is punishable by law. Crime is usually considered an evil act and criminals are often seen as evil created by Devil, out there to destroy the civilized citizens, the children of God.

There are many similarities between criminals and weeds. Criminals grow automatically in every society and the society has to work hard to weed out these criminals. Criminals like weeds are so powerful and competitive that they have the power to defeat the civilized people. They are, therefore, fought jointly by the society. Yet in every society, there is crime and there are criminals. We are used to look criminals as evil that is unnecessary just like weeds. Yet if God (Nature) is the creator of all, then everything in this world must have been created with a purpose. “What could be the purpose of creation of criminals?” We wonder.

Criminals are, as a matter of fact, creation of the civilized world. In an uncivilized world, there would be no law, so there can be no violation of law and hence, no criminal. If we wish to understand the utility of criminals in the civilized world, we must imagine the world of nature without weeds. In such a world, all plants will have to be grown by man with artificial watering – canals, tube-wells, and other irrigation systems used for agriculture. In all certainty, man will grow only such crops and plants that are useful to man and the rest of the species would surely not survive in the man’s world. Further, man’s energy is limited and with all his effort, he can hardly take care of a minuscule part of the world by artificial plantation, so the rest of the physical world would be without plants and so without oxygen and other animal life and Eco-system. This will soon lead to the end of the world including the human being.

The role of criminals is similar to the role of the weeds. Imagine a world without crime i.e. everyone follows the law of the land without questioning. It will only provide status quo in the world. Kings will always be kings and only their children or loved ones can become kings. Poor will always be poor. Kings will frame more inhuman laws that would give them more powers. The less fortunate people would die out of hunger and poverty as they won’t break the law and the state will have no obligation to feed them. Thus the world without criminals would be a place where people will die due to inaction, boredom and cruelty. Such an ideal world, indeed, would be the most inhuman and most undesirable to mankind.

Thankfully, people called criminals automatically grow in every civil society as soon as man creates laws to govern it. The laws of man are always challenged by them since they are mostly against the laws of nature i.e. equality, justice, liberty and fraternity. States always have to face opposition from such people who break the law and are known as criminals. They may have an ugly appearance as weeds but they only provide oxygen to the society for its life. Thus in posterity, people recognize them not as criminals but as heroes.

The Path of Heroism

While man hates criminals, he worships the heroes. He can lay his most valuable possession i.e. his life on a single call from his hero. Who are these heroes? Are they law-abiding civilized people or the law-defying criminals? Take the example of Mahatma Gandhi in the modern world. He was perhaps the biggest criminal in the time of the British rule in India and he was jailed many times on charges of being waging war against the state. He spent more than 15 years in jail for his various crimes. Yet the people of India call him ‘Father of the Nation’ and love him more than any civilized person on the earth. Nelson Mandela spent 27 years in jail, yet he is a national hero not only for South Africa but for the entire world.

In history, we can find numerous examples of great people who have broken the law and having been punished for their criminal acts. The list includes people like Christ, Prophet Mohammad, Socrates and Galileo. Yet it is these people who changed the history of the world and they are rightly worshiped as heroes by the masses even after their death.

How many people you have ever known who have become heroes without breaking the law and committing crimes in their time? Perhaps none. Heroes are created not by following the law but by breaking the law.

Rule of Divine Law

It is not always good to follow the law blindly as it provides order and rule of law in the society but kills the humanity as the implementation of most of the man-made laws are against the natural laws. Man-made laws are often disguised under the cover of natural laws like equality, justice, liberty and fraternity yet they serve just the opposite purpose. Most people see the letter of the law but fail to grasp its spirit. One must understand that breaking man-made laws is one of the fundamental requirements of all civil societies, if it contradicts the natural or divine laws. Thus every person who breaks the law need not be a criminal. One must go deeper into the facts before declaring a law-breaker to be a criminal. The key distinction perhaps would be to see if he is breaking the law for the interest of the humanity or for his own selfish end. Is it need-based or greed-based? There lies the distinction between good and evil, between a true criminal and a hero. One who is breaking a law for others or to fight injustice is a hero and not a criminal. A poet said “Jo lade din ke khet, Sura toi” (One who fights for the weak is the real hero).

Everyone knows that Vegas is the place to be for any sort of celebration such as a bachelor or bachelor party or even just going out on the town for a weekend for fun. In some cases Vegas becomes a little hard to handle and some people can often lose what they originally came with. The next morning many things can be a surprise to you, including a new wedding band on your finger or a headache that is worse than ever. If you are waking up next to someone who you do not know and cannot remember and there is a signed document there you may need the assistance of a Las Vegas Divorce Attorney. A Las Vegas Divorce Lawyer can get both parties out of the issue without a very difficult trial of events.

There are many ways to ensure that big mistakes like these do not happen or are less likely to happen on your very fun trip planned for Las Vegas, Nevada. In Nevada there are many different rules than in some other states and sometimes it is important to make sure that you know what those are before you get there. Another good way to make sure that nothing goes too incredibly wrong is to go with a group of friends rather than alone. The chances are good that one person in your group will probably want to stay alert throughout the night making sure that everyone is okay. If you have that person you can guarantee that you will be a little safer.

A lot of people like to go to Vegas to let off steam and let loose and relax, but do not get too relaxed. Remember that your visit to Vegas is meant to be enjoyable. You should not feel like your mind has been erased when you are finally heading home. A good way to do this is to make sure that you are fully prepared for any sort of extra partying that you may not be ready for. Do not lose control of yourself because this can end in multiple bad decisions.]

Las Vegas is a city known for some crazy nights but you do not have to be a part of something that you do not want to. If you are not there to gamble and drink and party in the clubs, there are plenty of other things to do. There are several different relaxation resorts and spas as well as many shows and cool museums to look around in. If you are interested in shopping there is also a great social scene with lots of designer stores to get exactly what you want. The night scene may be a little too exciting for you, but that is totally okay.

Vegas changes a little from day to night and for some people Vegas is not all about gambling relentlessly and drinking until they pass out. If this is not for you, there are plenty of other fun things to do as well. The most important thing is to remember to have fun and enjoy.

In the realm of law, crimes are considered to be within a jurisdiction. This means that the trials for certain crimes are the responsibility of certain areas of the country. At the most basic division, jurisdiction is broken into two levels: state level and federal level.

States usually have jurisdiction over most crimes that occur within that state. This may include murder, theft, trespassing, and other actions that break federal and state criminal laws. Some crimes are under both federal and state jurisdiction, meaning that the trials can be heard in state or federal courts.

Some particular crimes are considered federal offenses even though they occur in certain states. These crimes are considered crimes against the federal government and may include espionage, conspiracy against the government, illegal alien smuggling, and other crimes that threaten the federal government.

Other cases that may share joint jurisdiction as previously mentioned may become exclusively federal crimes depending on the magnitude of the crime. Examples of this include major cases of embezzling, bank fraud, and drug-related crimes.

In many cases, federal crimes are considered more severe than state crimes because they put more people in danger or affect a greater number of individuals. When an individual is convicted of a federal crime, he or she may serve time in a federal prison as opposed to a state jail.

Federal crimes often carry severe punishments, and individuals who commit them often see decades or even life in prison. These sentences may be in addition to severe fines that an individual is ordered to pay.

When preparing to meet with a Family Law Attorney in Reno, it helps to be prepared. Just like at a doctor’s appointment, it is sometimes difficult to remember all the things that you need to convey to the doctor or what advice they have given you. By taking a few moments in advance to prepare yourself for the appointment, you are likely to have a more meaningful meeting with your Divorce Attorney.

For starters, list out any questions or concerns you would like to discuss with your Divorce Lawyer. Bring this list to the appointment to insure that you cover all your questions or concerns. In most cases, you are paying for this time and will want to make the most of that time and avoid having to call your Divorce Attorney with a question later. There is no such thing as a bad question for your Divorce Lawyer, so don’t be afraid to ask. The more you know about Nevada Family Law and your case, the better you will understand what is happening during your Divorce or Child Custody Case.

Bring any documents, evidence or other information that is relevant to your case to the appointment. This is particularly important if you have been served with documents or your case has been ongoing prior to hiring the attorney. This will allow your Divorce Attorney to review the ongoing case and access what is happening and if any deadlines are looming.

Be honest during your appointment. An attorney needs all the facts to evaluate your case and help you prepare for the legal process. Surprises in court or during the case can be devastating so knowing about them and being prepared to address them avoids the “surprise” in Court and before the Judge.

You should keep notes during the appointment. This will allow you to review them later in the event you cannot recall what was discussed. The notes should be put in a safe place to avoid being viewed by an opposing party or other individuals.

Many clients want to bring family or friends to their appointments with them. I discourage doing this as it wipes away the attorney-client privilege if a third party is in the meeting. To fully protect your attorney-client privilege, it is best to have your family/friends wait in the waiting room during your meeting.

During the appointment, if you don’t understand a term used or something that is told to you, it is OK to ask! I want my clients to fully understand their case, the legal process and how my office functions. You will take away some of the emotion and stress that comes from litigation by simply making sure you understand. So if you don’t understand, please ask.

If you are setting a consult or an appointment with my office, I look forward to meeting you. I hope you take the time to read this entry and come as prepared as possible to our meeting so that I can provide the best service to you.

At no time in our modern history have more demands been placed upon the law enforcement officer. Communities are extremely concerned about crime and they are demanding that law enforcement agencies “do something about it.”
It seems that every day, violent crime and drugs occupy the front page of every newspaper in America. Politicians at the local, state and national level like to give the impression of being “tough on crime” and espouse philosophies which, at least outwardly, seem to support that toughness.

At the same time, the public (via the media) is scrutinizing the actions of the law enforcement community more closely than ever before.

The public wants results and, more importantly, to feel safe. Yet, that same public will not tolerate any perceived abuses of suspects’ rights in the process.

Primarily due to the increased cost of incarceration, a concerted push is being made to release prisoners from jails and prisons, with the ensuing increase in probationers and parolees.

Probation/Parole Officers have increased caseloads with no end in sight.

Juvenile crime is sky-rocketing.

Younger, more fearless criminals are becoming the norm, with the media bringing sad tale after tale into our homes on a nightly basis.

When I speak to new recruits, I tell them that what the public wants in a police officer is simple: we want applicants that are warm, caring individuals who are capable of speaking to public groups; conducting demonstrations at schools; counseling troubled youth; rendering first aid; interacting with and assessing problems from a community perspective.

In addition to all of those admirable qualities, we want much more.

If a bad guy is trying to get into our home, we want an absolutely fearless gladiator who will willingly risk his/her very life to apprehend the suspect (without injury to the burglar, of course) and protect our property.

We want, expect and demand all of this for a salary that is far less than society pays a plumber!

Whether a person is a Probation/Parole Officer supervising 100 felons, a Police Officer in a patrol car, a Fish and Wildlife Officer working all alone 50 miles from any back-up, a military law enforcement officer or a Federal Agent working in a structured environment, being a law enforcement officer is an extraordinarily tough and complex job which demands that we apply all of our skills and training.

How has the law enforcement community dealt with the ever-increasingly need for interview training?

Poorly, I’m afraid. Here’s how it works…

In virtually every modern law enforcement agency, much care and consideration is given to the allocation of training, especially that training which requires both expenditures of time and money.

Traditionally, different segments of the agency (patrol, detectives, administration, etc.) have had to compete in a sense for their share of the almighty training dollar budget.

As a result, it is incumbent upon agency administrators to prioritize the available training money.

Training in most modern law enforcement agencies has taken on the semblance of a triage system at an emergency room. Administrators want to send everyone to training, so they end up throwing some money at those who are “bleeding” the most. Due to civil liability concerns, patrol officers mainly receive training emphasizing the motor skills areas (firearms, arrest techniques, emergency driving tactics, handgun retention skills, etc.), said areas presenting the most opportunity for misapplication and a resultant lawsuit.

Investigators receive training geared toward their primary areas of emphasis (interview & interrogation, crime scene investigation, investigative specialties, etc.).

Ironically, an objective analysis of the component parts of the job of patrol officer reveals interviewing skills are utilized far more often than any other skill. Think about it, what skill is used more often than the ability to talk with people and elicit information?

Conversely, what will get an officer in trouble with the public faster than an inability to communicate?

• How many times in any officer’s life will he or she use deadly force?
• How many times in any given month will he or she get into a vehicular pursuit?
• How many instances of dealing with hazardous materials will crop up in an average month?

Contrast the frequency of these incidents against the absolute certainty that we will have to interact with people during each and every shift.

We routinely qualify in shooting, attend yearly hazardous materials safety courses, attend Emergency Vehicle Operations courses and the like, yet most patrol officers never attend formal interview and interrogation instruction after an initial exposure to it in the basic training academy.

Consider the following sober statistics:

o Police Training academies in the United States offer, on average, only 4 hours of training on interviewing techniques during Basic Training.

o 60% of law enforcement training academies in the U.S. don’t offer any interview training at all during Basic Training.

o Less than 20% of all law enforcement officers have received in-service training in interviewing techniques.

Unfortunately, in most law enforcement agencies, the investigators are repeatedly sent to interview and interrogation training, while the patrol officers who apply to attend are routinely turned down. In the bureaucratic effort to make training dollars stretch a long way, administrators often prioritize training requests, sometimes based upon outdated or inaccurate information.

The need exists for inexpensive, easy methods benefit police officers without regard to job assignment, all in an affordable manner.

Compounding the training problem is the current countrywide push toward “Community Policing” and all of the responsibilities inherent with that system. Simply put, Community Policing can be best described as a philosophy of empowerment that allows the beat officer to solve problems. By a collaborative effort with others in the community, police officers are responsible for actually resolving the community concerns, rather than just taking enforcement action.

While the philosophy sounds good, the average law enforcement patrol officer has not been given the tools with which to conduct investigations, interview people, make public presentations and achieve this collaboration to solve problems. Federal grant money has been spread across the country in an effort to promote Community Policing.

Officers have been hired, equipment has been purchased and public relations efforts have been extensive in this area. Unfortunately, officers that do not have the foundation of investigative training may find themselves in an uncomfortable position.

One Community Policing officer recently told me “If I had wanted to interview neighbors, show photo lineups, speak to public groups and work extensively with other public agencies, I would have been a detective. What happened to good, old-fashioned police work?”

One of the primary components of Community Policing is the ability to interact with people in a non-threatening manner which elicits maximum information.

Most basic training academies teach a block of instruction on “Interviewing and Interrogation.” However, these traditional systems stress the structured interview approach to interviewing. The new trainee soon realizes that he or she will conduct hundreds or thousands of street interviews while on patrol and will perform relatively few formal, structured interviews in an interrogation room setting.

There are some very fine formal “Interview and Interrogation” type training classes for law enforcement officers out there (being a polygraph examiner, I have attended quite a few of them), but they tend to emphasize the structured interrogation aspect of the situation and are geared more toward an investigator than a patrol officer.

Look for interview training that does not deal with just the structured interview/interrogation type setting. Again, an analysis of a patrol officer’s daily job reveals that the vast majority of contacts that he or she experiences are not in a structured setting conducive to a formalized method of interview and interrogation.

The Focused Interviewing system is not one based totally on theory, but rather upon practical application. These techniques are being successfully used daily, are very easy to learn and do not require reference texts to be carried in the field.

In this system, we will look at what is wrong (or at least ineffective) with typical street interview techniques, what led us to use techniques that don’t work, what does work and how to develop techniques that will dramatically increase our “confession” or “incriminating statement” rates in dealing with offenders and will be of great value in clarifying statements obtained from victims and witnesses.

The Internet has definitely taken the world by storm. It has opened up new ways for communicating with others all over the globe and has given everyone the convenience of having information ready at their fingertips. One downside to this though is that with the influx of the information also comes the rise of unreliable information. Divorce is one of the topics most frequently looked up on the net and to those who are in need of some reliable divorce help online, here are some good tips to remember:

When it comes to getting information and divorce help, nothing beats the quickness of the Internet. Quick as it may be, it certainly also has its flaws. For one, with the numerous sites online which have articles that talk about a range of topics on divorce, it is unsure that all the divorce information are truly 100% based on facts.

Many of these websites have articles which can be read free of charge which makes them all the more popular for those who are thinking of getting a divorce but are on a budget. Thus being able to tell which is fact and which is fallacy is definitely a much needed skill.

You should always have a critical mind so that you can tell which the facts are. It is never a wrong thing to ask around or look into details more closely rather than following and believing readily what is written. Compare and contrast articles and see which sounds more believable to you and contains the most facts rather than ideas based on opinions. And whenever you read something, watch something or listen to something, keep an open mind but never forget to use common sense. Sometimes when we are too emotionally charged we forget to use our logic. For example, you search for “ways to brutally get back on your cheating husband” instead of just looking for softer and more practical self-help stuff. That’s when you create a whole new problem in the middle of this sticky situation.

It will also be a good move to look into the main contributors of the site. Look up on their credentials and see if they have enough legal knowledge and experience to be deemed experts in the field. Look for sites which have a reputable divorce attorney as one of their main contributors, if not all.

Always remember that different states also vary in the laws that govern divorce, so if looking for divorce help online, search for ones that specialize on divorce laws within your state or area. You wouldn’t want to be taking tips from a site which have facts based on Nevada laws when you live in California.

Spotting reliable divorce help online is just all about reading and using your critical thinking skills. Most of the time, wrong information can easily be detected if we learn to read and look into details more closely.

Indianapolis is the fourteenth largest city in the United States. It has 829,718 residents according to the 2010 census. Over the past 10 years ending December 31, 2010 Indianapolis averaged 4705 new residents per year. Indianapolis reported 4844 divorce petitions filed in 2010, which represents an above average filing year and 2009 reported 5504, which was a significant increase over the average. It does not, however, rank among the top 50 divorce cities in the United States. The dubious distinction of being the divorce capital of the world belongs to Las Vegas, Nevada.

Many of the divorce petitions filed in Indianapolis are pro-se, which means that the person filing the petition is representing themselves. For the rest of the litigants who file or who are named as the respondent in these legal proceedings, they will be represented by a lawyer. Indianapolis Divorce Attorneys compete for the roughly 800 potential clients who file each month and they do so by print and electronic advertising. As the internet becomes a more popular venue for commerce, more and more lawyers and law firms are finding the internet to be a very dynamic venue in which to advertise their services. They employ a number of strategies to place themselves at the top of the heap, including paying major search engines for the right to be listed prominently at the top of the search pages. Since Google has the lion’s share of the internet market, this is the place where lawyers compete for position. At least those that know and understand the workings of the internet.

Despite this competition among divorce attorneys, and between all other attorneys for that matter, referrals from other clients and other lawyers remain the most common means of bringing new clients to the office. This may be due to the fact legal issues in general and divorce in particular tend to deal with highly personal and sensitive issues, and clients need to feel safe with the people who represent them. Finding lawyers that are known to their friends goes a long way to subdue any fears they might have about sharing their inner most thoughts with a complete stranger.

Many lawyers do not practice in this field, but virtually every full service law firm and even boutique law firms have at least one lawyer on staff who handle divorce and family law matters. There are very few attorneys who claim to practice exclusively in the family law arena, but there are a few. While this area of law is not highly technical or difficult, it does require a broad range of knowledge and it is not something a complete novice should tackle alone. There are simply too many pitfalls waiting for the inexperienced lawyer to stumble into as the case develops.

As long as law enforcement agencies have been dealing with recorded audio and video, there’s been a need for law enforcement transcription. Despite advancements in technology, those pieces of audio and video that are entered into evidence or as part of an investigation still need to be transcribed for reasons of documentation and clarity.

The responsibility for transcription has commonly fallen on the shoulders of those professionals that require the work; law enforcement agencies, attorneys, public defenders, prosecutors, security companies, and others.

Unfortunately, over time the caseloads for law enforcement agencies have increased while there has been no increase (and sometimes a decrease) in personnel to manage the work and influx of forensic transcription.

Budget cuts have made it virtually impossible for many law enforcement agencies to bring on additional staff to assist with the translation and transcription, creating a nightmare of labor costs for many divisions.

Security Concerns

The possibility of outsourcing forensic transcription is one that is routinely discussed in many agencies, but many have reservations about utilizing outsourced services, particularly when delicate evidence in audio and video is concerned.

In the past many agencies were wary about sending out hardcopies of audio and video to be handled by a law enforcement transcription company when considering the potential of that content becoming “lost” or corrupted.

Likewise, the more hands an item passed through, the greater the chance of the material becoming damaged or leaked – especially to the media. These security concerns have encouraged a number of agencies to retain the transcription and translation work in house.

As technology has advanced however, new and far safer methods make it extremely simple to get the necessary content to a transcription service; Audio and video content can be uploaded to a secured server managed by the transcription service.

This secure upload makes it easy to monitor and maintain who has custody of the content because it passes easily from point A (the law enforcement agency that requires the transcription) to point B (the transcription service).

Reeling Budget Considerations

With the economical upset across the nation, many law enforcement agencies have suffered severe budget cuts that cost them both personnel and equipment. As such, it’s been extremely difficult for many of those agencies to justify paying an additional cost for outsourcing forensic transcription.

For many transcription services, it is common to charge by the line or by the page. Unfortunately it’s often very difficult to determine how many pages an interview will leave you with once it’s transcribed. There is another option that can make budgeting easier for law enforcement agencies, and that’s to opt for transcription services that charge by the minute.

That means if an agency needs transcription for a 46 minute interview – whether in audio or video format – then the agency is charged for 46 minutes.

The Real Benefit of Outsourcing Law Enforcement Transcription

The real problem facing law enforcement agencies, and any agency involved in the criminal justice system that is subject to strict budgets, is that in-house transcription takes up a tremendous amount of time and man power to complete.

Many agencies oppose outsourced transcription services because they fear the cost, as mentioned previously, but they don’t consider the actual cost of keeping that transcription in-house. Their intention is to save money by keeping transcription in-house but unfortunately that decision is costing some agencies a great deal of money.

*Salaries/Wages
Paid to those employees, secretaries, etc. who are required to transcribe the data – sometimes in the form of overtime depending on the case load.

*Management Expenses
Transcriptions typically need to be reviewed for accuracy and tracked to ensure that they are being completed in a timely manner. This can take time away from those in positions of authority within the department or agency.

*Cost of Information Technology
The cost of purchasing and maintaining software and hardware plus the training of employees and personnel to utilize the equipment for audio and video transcription

*Overflow and Delay Costs
There are inevitable times when delays occur which can pose significant problems to law enforcement cases where a deadline is concerned. Often the overflow and delayed material winds up in the hands of an outsourced company. Due to a looming deadline and thus a rapid turnaround requirement, the cost for such a service is often higher.

A Viable Alternative

Forensic and law enforcement transcription & translation outsourcing have become one of the primary ways that many agencies are finding budget relief. With skilled outsourcing to a service that employs trained forensic transcriptionists, law enforcement agencies gain a number of benefits:

*Reduced man hours of on-site personnel
*Elimination of the need to hire additional personnel to meet demands
*Improved quality of the transcribed content
*Reduced delays in transcription (rapid turnaround)

Outsourcing of forensic transcription means that far more agencies will be able to put their personnel where they belong – focusing on the agency’s primary responsibilities. With skilled outsourcing, law enforcement agencies, security companies, and so-on can trim costs because they are able to get transcripts completed on time, thus meeting the demand of an increased case load without the need to hire more staff or force current staff to burn the candle at both ends.

The new age of digital transcription via the web has given law enforcement agencies, public defenders offices, security companies, and others a means of maintaining the security of their data as it’s being passed off to trained forensic transcriptionists, and a rapid turnaround on those pressing cases that need to be handled quickly.