how accurate does the time stamp on CCTV footage have to be to be admissible in court?

Question

According to UK law??

Answer 1

There is no specific rule at all.



Any CCTV would only be admissible to the extent that it can be proved that it shows what it purports to show - ie that it was taken when and where the party relying on it suggests.



Often there will be no dispute and both parties will accept it at face value. If it is disputed then some corroboration may be required - eg the security chief from the organisation whose CCTV it is. If the time stamp is totally wrong its fairly easy to work out how far out it is and to provide evidence to that effect.

Answer 2

You need to be able to prove that the CCTV footage is showing pictures during the time (or indeed just before/after) that the crime took place. The time stamp doesn't necessarily have to be correct, as long as you can prove that the pictures were taken between 3:30 and 4pm, or whatever the time you need is. If you can't prove that, the other side will rip you to shreds, even if it is allowed to be submitted as evidence.

Answer 3

There is no an universal rule.



Each case is different so it will depend on how critical is the precision for the case; in some cases an estimated time is good enough to prove the case, so a margin of error could be acceptable.