• Personal Identification is the first application of photography is police work. 

• Photographs are used to identify criminals, missing persons, lost or stolen property, licenses, anonymous letters, bank checks, laundry marks, and the civilian or personnel fingerprint identification files.

• Alphonse Bertillon was the first police who utilized photography in police work as a supplementary identification in his Anthropometry system. 

• Photograph is one of the most universal methods of communication considering that no other language can be known universally than photograph. 

• Photograph supplements to reports. 

It is the utmost used of photography in police work.

Different Views in Photographing

1. General View

Taking an over-all view of the scene of the crime. It shows direction and location of the crime scene.

2. Medium View

Is the taking of the photograph of the scene if the crime by dividing it into section. This view will best view the nature of the crime. (8-10 ft.)

3. Close-up View

Is the taking of individual photograph of the evidence at the scene of the crime. It is design to show the details of the crime.

4. Extreme close-up View

Commonly designed in laboratory photographing using some magnification such as Photography and Photomicrography.

• Crime scene and other physical evidence requires photograph for preservation purposes. 

• Crime scene cannot be retain as is for a long period of time but through photograph the initial condition of the scene of the crime can be preserved properly.

Photography can extend human vision in discovering and proving thing

• Almost all evidence presented in court before formally be accepted requires that they satisfy the basic requirements for admissibility which is relevancy and competency/authenticity. 

• A question of relevancy is usually proved by proving the origin of the evidence and its relation to the case and this is usually supplemented by photograph of the evidence giving reference as to where it came from.

• EXHIBIT-evidence in court

With the use of video camera (hidden camera) and other advanced photographic equipment, crimes are being detected more easily and even to the extent of preventing them from initially occurring.

Modern facilities are now being used as instructional material not only in police training as well as in other agencies.

With the use of photography any number of reproduction of the evidence can be made those giving unlimited opportunity for its examination and even allow other experts or person to examine the specimen without compromising the original.