NCJ Number
217443
Journal
Police Chief Volume: 74 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2007 Pages: 54-57
Date Published
January 2007
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article describes the New York State Police's (NYSP's) program for collecting and analyzing digital (computer/electronic) evidence, which is recommended as a model for police departments in other States.
Abstract
An increasing amount of information that is vital to solving various types of cases is being found on computer systems, the Internet, and in portable digital computing devices. Today, every police investigator needs access to resources that can help identify and access digital information; however, even large law enforcement agencies have difficulty maintaining the resources required to conduct such complex and technically challenging investigations. In 1992, the NYSP established its Computer Crime Unit (CCU), which consisted of two sworn members of its Bureau of Criminal Investigation. The CCU currently has a computer forensic laboratory at division headquarters with 20 terabytes of storage. It also has a network of investigators deployed regionally throughout the State. They are specially trained in cybercrime and cyberterrorism investigations, as well as digital evidence field examinations. In addition, the CCU has a new computer incident response vehicle that can bring the lab's specialized skills and services on site to support the collection and forensic examination of digital evidence at major crime scenes and other evidence sites. A planned expansion will soon bring the CCU's full staff to 52 sworn investigators and nonsworn forensic computer analysts. Additional staff in the computer forensic laboratory enables the agency to address the growing number of cases of methamphetamine trafficking, illegal firearms, identity theft, and Internet fraud. The CCU supports NYSP Academy training in the investigation of computer-related crime, mobile computing devices, digital evidence, and the Internet. Training for CCU staff ensures that it is familiar with the latest investigative, technical, and forensic resources available for the investigation of various types of crime.