Potential digital evidence is everywhere, and for law enforcement can be the cause of a lengthy seizure process. Knowing what to consider digital evidence and how to properly seize digital evidence is important for all members of law enforcement to ensure the evidence is protected for potential court cases. Digital evidence is defined as electronic data, materials, objects, property, documents, or records that are presented in court to prove or disprove allegations made against an arrestee. Digital evidence takes the form of electronic data or information stored in bits and bytes on magnetic media. Digital evidence can be photos, videos, text documents, Internet activity logs, phone numbers, or any other data that are stored electronically that have relevance to a criminal case (Knetzger & Muaski, 2008). Devices can also be seized which can potentially hold digital evidence. Some examples of the devices to which store this data are personal computers, computer media discs, cellular phones, digital cameras, and MP3 players, and this is just to name a few of the devices out there that hold this information. It is a crime scene investigators first mission to never change a crime scene or alter evidence, so it is important for first responders, or law enforcement personnel to remember this upon first reaching or entering a crime scene. The main goal is to document and preserve the scene exactly as it was when the crime was committed (Knetzger & Muaski, 2008). The first thing that law enforcement personnel wants to do is photograph the scene from multiple vantage points, which will be used as evidence of how the property was when law enforcement arrived on the scene of the crime. Secondly, it is important that law enforcement know ... ... middle of paper ... ... magnetic media, wiping it clean. Another main focus of importance is to document each person in the chain of custody and what that Person’s role was. Actions taken by each person should also be documented. This is especially critical in a digital evidence case, because the forensic specialist will need to state unequivocally that data were not added, modified, deleted, or otherwise manipulated while that computer or digital device was in police custody (Knetzger & Muaski, 2008). It is important that all law enforcement have some knowledge in seizing computer (digital) evidence. With the internet, social media, and electronic devices being in not only everyone’s home, but in everyone’s hand in the form of a cell phone now a days digital crimes are increasing. Understand these few pieces of information about digital evidence can either make a case, or break it.
Digital Forensic is the process of uncovering and interpreting electronic data that can be used in a court of law. It requires a set of standards to show how the information that is gathered, preserve, and analyzed is strictly followed. The analysts need to understand the evolution of the current technology and how it will impact how they gather their information. The investigator is able to uncover evidence and analyze it to gain the understanding of the motives, crime, and the criminal’s identity to help solve the crime. As computers and technology continue to become a part of our everyday lives, the cyber realm contains a growing realm for evince in all types of criminal investigations (Cummings, 2008) Digital forensics is a way to connect information security and law enforcement. It ensures that the digital evidence is collected in a way that it can make it into the courts in an unhampered or uncontaminated way (Dlamini, M., Eloff, J. & Eloff, M., 2009).
From a trial strategy point of view, you always start with the piece(s) of evidence you believe are most damaging to the client's case and work backwards looking for an exploitable flaw in the search and seizure procedure that would make that or those item(s) inadmissible. The further back in the series of events you can argue a fatal flaw, the more likely that the evidence and any additional materials which flowed from that particular item of evidence will be excluded. This is the practical analysis of all the times we see or hear of law enforcement arguing that there was some technical item which drew their attention and suspicion and justifies their hunch that criminal activity is afoot.
Evidence analysis and ranging is the most crucial stage of investigation. The success of the case exposure lies in the gradual evidence research and collecting prior to the laboratory analysis. The CSI systematically makes his way through the crime scene collects all potential evidence, tagging, logging and packaging so it remains intact on its way to the lab. Depending on the task breakdown of the CSI unit he may or may not analyze the evidence in the lab.
Forensics investigations that require the analyzation and processing of digital evidence can be influenced both positively and negatively by a number of outside sources. In this paper, we will explore how physical security plays a role in forensics investigations activities. We will start by examining how physical and environmental security might impact the forensics investigation process. Next, we will discuss the role that physical and logical security zones play in supporting effective forensics activities. We will illustrate how centralized and decentralized physical and environmental security affects the forensics professional’s approach toward the investigation. Lastly, we will evaluate some potential areas of risk related to the physical security of our case study organization, Widget Factory, identified in Attachment 1.
Computers are also unique in the way they type and print out things. Document examiners can look over these and establish the similarities in the handwriting, and computer forensic specialists can extract logs and other data from most devices. As you can see
In the criminal justice system, the best chance of a fair trial and justice lies within cases that include physical evidence. Physical evidence, whether fibers, fingerprints, or DNA, can give a jury proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Physical evidence can convict a criminal, or it can free an innocent man. It can bring closure to families and to the law enforcement that work the cases. The following cases will show what physical evidence does in a criminal trial and the vast impact it can make. For each case I will examine how the physical evidence was important to the case and whether or not it could have made more of a difference if the presentation of the evidence were different. The five cases are: the Mosley case, the Warren case, the Chandler case, the Frediani case, and the Swift Case.
The first and most important step in the entire process for collecting evidence is to document the scene. It is extremely critical that an investigator capture as accurate a depiction of a crime scene as possible (Solomon, Rudolph, Tittel, Broom, & Barrett, 2011). This can be accomplished in a number of ways. These include taking a photograph of the scene to preserve the original image of the scene for a judge and jury. Investigators can also take images of a computer system. It is necessary to take hash images of volatile data first as volatile data relies on a constant flow of electricity to keep in system memory. Things that are considered volatile are registers, the system casche, routing tables, kernel statistics, memory, temporary file systems, disks and archived media (Soloman, Rudolph, Tittel, Broom, & Barrett, 2011). The first thing an investigator s...
In order to understand how to compile evidence for criminal cases, we must understand the most effective types of evidence. This topic is interesting because there are ample amounts of cases where defendants have gotten off because of the lack of forensic evidence. If we believe forensic evidence is so important and it affects our decisions, then maybe we need to be educated on the reality of forensic evidence. If we can be educated, then we may have a more successful justice system. If we have a more successful justice system than the public could gain more confidence that justice will be served. In order to do this, we must find what type of evidence is most effective, this can be done by examining different types of evidence.
Technology has opened new encounters and opportunities for the criminal justice system. There are so many new practices of criminal activity, such as computer crimes. There are different types of computer crimes that many people become victims of every day. Computer crime is any crime that involves a computer and a network. The computer may have been used in the commission of a crime, or it may be the target ("Computer Crime: Chapter 2: What Are the Crimes?", n.d.). Crimes such as data diddling, pump and dump, social engineering and spoofing are computer crimes. Even though these crimes are difficult by privacy issues, the new technology has made investigations and prosecutions well organized and effective. Though views are different on the pros and cons of specific technological changes in the criminal justice system, there is an agreement the system has changed affectedly ("Effects of Technology in Criminal Justice | eHow", n.d.).
Pallaras, Stephen. "New Technology: Opportunities And Challenges For Prosecutors." Crime, Law & Social Change 56.1 (2011): 71-89. SocINDEX with Full Text. Web. 10 Mar. 2014.
In order for evidence to be used in court, it must be collected and tested by valid methods. The collection of evidence must be completed carefully and properly to prevent cross-contaminating or destroying the evidence. Before evidence can be collected at a crime scene, the area must be secured to ensure everyone stays safe and that the evidence is not destroyed. After the scene is secured by all proper measures, the collection process can begin. The first items to be collected are those that are transient, fragile or perishable. Hair, fibers and small shards of glass are all
A forensic interview is a structured conversation with a child or minor with the intention of eliciting detailed information about a possible event (s) that the child many have experienced or witnessed. Concurrently, for Van Heerden (1977: 8) forensics refer to the computerized activities or scientific knowledge employed by law enforcement agents to serve justice. In the study, forensic investigation is used to refer to any computer-related activities or methods used by police, investigators, prosecutors and all other law enforcement agents to gather facts, track down criminals, arrest or detain them, gather information, preserve information and finally present it in the court of law.
What did they do ? Before we talk about it any further, we have to know some definitions that we use in digital forensics and digital evidence, not only two of them but the others too. This chapter will explain about it . Before we talk about it any further, we have to know the definition of what we are talking about. In the introduction we already know what digital forensic and digital evidence shortly are. In this chapter, we will more explore what they are, and some state that we found when we search about digital forensic and digital evidence. Computer forensics is a broad field and applied to the handling of crimes related to information technology. The goal of computer forensic is to securing and analyzing digital
Forensic science has now been recognized as an important part of the law enforcement team to help solve crimes and cold cases. The advances in technology are being used each day and we must continue to strive to develop better advances in this field. The recent discovery of using DNA in criminal cases has helped not only positively identify the suspect, but it has helped exonerate hundreds of innocent individuals. “With new advances in police technology and computer science, crime scene investigation and forensic science will only become more precise as we head into the future.” (Roufa, 2017) Forensic science and evidence helps law enforcement officials solve crimes through the collection, preservation and analysis of evidence. By having a mobile crime laboratory, the scene gets processed quicker and more efficiently. Forensic science will only grow in the future to be a benefit for the criminal justice
The process of gathering evidence largely depends on the role of discretion by the police. Once police have decided to pursue a reported crime, they then begin the process of gathering evidence. To ensure that the process of gathering evidence is lawful, the police must follow the procedure outlined in the Evidence Act 1995 (NSW), which describes the manner in which evidence can be collected. This act imposes certain limits on the way police can gather evidence and the types of evidence that can be used. The Act is able to protect the rights of citizens by making it a requirement for the police to gain necessary legal documentation, such as search warrants, in order to obtain some types of evidence and thus, protects the rights of ordinary systems. In more recent times, the use of technology has come to play a major role in the gathering of evidence and with this comes complications in the law. New technologies in relation to the criminal investigation process are mainly in reference to DNA evidence, genetic material that can place a suspect at the scene of a crime. The introduction of DNA evidence into the criminal investigation process has been extremely effective in achieving justice, as it is able to secure convictions. Initially, there were some setbacks to the use of DNA evidence