Ride the Lightning

HILL STREET BLUES: TRAINING COPS IN E-EVIDENCE

November 20, 2007

It is no secret to anyone in computer forensics that law enforcement needs some serious training when it comes to electronic evidence. How to properly seize, secure and document this kind of evidence is a mystery to many of the rank and file. Indeed, we have often seen cases where the evidence has been “stomped on” by law enforcement, not out of any desire to do mischief, but merely out of ignorance and curiosity. It appears, especially in cases where pornography may be involved, that there is an irresistible impulse to “take a peek.”

Police departments and law enforcement agencies across the country have done a commendable job of scrambling to get training in place, though it has clearly been an uphill battle. An interesting phenomenon has developed – law enforcement is now partnering with universities in an attempt to bridge the knowledge gap. Purdue University has a partnership with the Indiana State Police and the National Center for White Collar Crimes. Similar kinds of partnerships exist at such places as the University of Rhode Island, Dartmouth College, Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Central Florida. This strikes me as a very useful collaboration, and one that may produce enormous benefits. No one likes having cases thrown out because electronic evidence was mishandled, so it benefits us all if this sort of education profilerates.

As Sergeant Phil Esterhaus used to say on Hill Street Blues, “Hey, let’s be careful out there.”

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