Forensics/crime scene investigation

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ANALYSIS: With police officers encountering digital evidence in the vast majority of inquiries, a digital evidence strategy (DES) can ensure they are prepared to effectively deal with it; Dr Graeme Horsman, Senior Lecturer in Digital Forensics at Cranfield University, explains how the GAMEPLANS acrostic can help officers produce a robust DES to effectively identify, collect, examine, and evaluate any digital devices/data, and define the circumstances when it is appropriate to conduct such tasks.

FEATURE: A new Queensland Police Service (QPS) approach to responding to volume crimes which focuses on attendance by scenes of crime officers has seen an increase in evidence obtained from the scene while saving more than 180,000 hours for general duties officers, as QPS Senior Sergeants Lisa Weller and Josh White explained to delegates at the recent Global Evidence-Based Policing Conference.

OPINION: Forensic science plays a key role in solving crimes as well as overturning wrongful convictions, but recent studies suggest public trust in forensic science is declining for a range of reasons; University of the West of England Forensic Science Lecturer Dr Emmanuel Nsiah Amoako, who is part of a research project examining (dis)trust in forensic science, believes a “collaborative effort” from policing and scientists to listen and address public concerns will be essential if that lost trust is to be regained.

ANALYSIS: New research led by Abertay University’s Dr Ben Jones and funded by the Scottish Institute for Policing Research’s Future of Policing Scheme has highlighted the new challenges around retrieving fingerprints from polymer banknotes introduced in the UK in 2015, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

INNOVATION: In the latest in a series of articles exploring how artificial intelligence (AI) can be used in policing, Chief Philip Lukens explores the potentially revolutionary benefits of AI X-ray vision in police searches and emergency rescue and recovery operations, as well as the technical, legal and ethical challenges that the use of such technology could bring.

INNOVATION: The use of DNA to solve crimes and identify offenders has been a key tool for policing for almost 40 years; now the growing use of forensic genetic genealogy – also known as investigative genetic genealogy – has the potential to be a similar game changer in investigating cold cases, as Policing Insight’s Vernon White reports.

LONG READ: Having explored the challenges and opportunities faced by policing in collating and analysing the huge growth in data sources – including the potential for technology to offer solutions, the skillsets required and the ethical concerns – what does law enforcement need to do to tackle these issues? In the last in the series of five features, Policing Insight’s Keith Potter spoke to police practitioners, stakeholders and specialists about the way forward.

ANALYSIS: The Forensic Science Regulator Code of Practice, which sets out the standards for forensic science activities in crime investigations across England and Wales, came into force in October; while the Code will deliver greater consistency and quality across forensics in law enforcement, the implementation will also create challenges around accreditation, capacity and training for forces working towards compliance, as Richard Cockerill, Digital Forensic Laboratory Operations Director with technologists CACI, explains.

FEATURE: The importance of forensics in police investigations cannot be overstated, and their increasingly crucial role has been one of the driving forces behind the recent launch of the Forensic Science Regulator’s Code of Practice; the role of forensics, and the understanding and implications of the new Code, were the key topics for discussion in a recent @WeCops online chat, hosted by Thames Valley Police Head of Forensics Kay Hannam, and Head of Forensic Accreditation, Caroline Rust.

INTERVIEW: The University of Tennessee’s Law Enforcement Innovation Center (LEIC) established a global reputation for forensics training, but more recently has become recognised for innovative approaches to issues including leadership, communications and culture; Policing Insight’s Christine Townsend spoke to LEIC Training Specialist Jeff Hundley about the institution’s evolution, training challenges, and its student demographic.

FEATURE: As police leaders and practitioners, government and industry prepare to gather for this week’s Police Digital Summit, Martyn Underhill, a former police officer and police and crime commissioner who is now a consultant on policing issues, reflects on a similar Cityforum summit from earlier in the summer which focused on the challenges, progress and future potential for the police delivery of digital forensics.

INTERVIEW: As cybersecurity threats persist, Dr Reza Montasari, Senior Lecturer in Cyber Threats at the Cyber Threats Research Centre at Swansea University, spoke to Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth about the dangers to law enforcement agencies and public sector authorities, and how new approaches to cyber security and the application of artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms present opportunities to transform policing.

FEATURE: With the new Forensic Science Code of Practice coming into force later this year, policing has a chance to boost standards across its forensics functions; but as a panel at the recent Digital Forensic Forum argued, meeting these stringent requirements is only possible if policing leaders are willing to step up their interest in forensics and push for cultural change, reports Policing Insight’s James Sweetland.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Digital transformation is pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in policing – from data analytics and mobile workforce optimization to online citizen engagement and investigations. But when it comes to delivering on the promise of digital transformation, one technology that police departments are embracing in growing numbers is cloud-based DEMS (Digital Evidence Management System). This article explores 12 powerful ways that DEMS is transforming policing, from crime to justice.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Last year’s rather damning report into UK policing’s digital forensics performance highlighted crucial concerns around lengthy delays failing victims, and forces unable to get to grips with a huge and growing backlog; a digital forensic ‘blueprint’ approach offered by Telefónica Tech provides the flexibility, speed and necessary compliant storage to address those concerns, as Will Wilkinson and Ed Taylor explained to Policing Insight’s Keith Potter.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Learn how Cumbria Constabulary empowers their force to reduce costs and boost efficiency with Axon technologies. By collecting and managing evidence with digital tools, Cumbria officers are better able to focus on what brought them to the force to begin with – being in the community.

FEATURE: After the recent bruising inspectorate assessment of digital forensics across England and Wales, the development of a new fingerprint capability – rolling out in the East Midlands from next month – offers a more positive story; this new digital tool, developed through Transforming Forensics, could speed up investigations, improve standards, and show the value of collaboration, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports.

FEATURE: Data obtained from digital devices is now as essential to modern police investigations as DNA evidence or fingerprints; but a recent a report from His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services presents a damning assessment of how forces in England and Wales are handling digital forensics, and calls for new governance structures and more funding, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: London’s Metropolitan Police Service now shares 600% more digital evidence with the CPS than in initial rollout. Learn how Axon Evidence helps facilitate efficient sharing for faster investigations.

LONG READ: With just one per cent of cases making it to court and convictions at a historic low, some believe the crime of rape has effectively been decriminalised. Dr John Fox, a lecturer in Police Studies at the University of Portsmouth, analyses the reasons why so few cases result in a conviction.

ADVERTISMENT FEATURE: The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) oversees the police complaints system in England and Wales. They investigate the most serious matters, including deaths following police contact, and set the standards by which the police should handle complaints. The IOPC wanted to make it as easy and seamless as possible for police forces to share information and evidence with IOPC investigators. To address this and other challenges, the IOPC implemented NICE Investigate.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Recent studies of the use and impact of, for example, body-worn video (BWV) cameras, have produced inconclusive results, or the reporting is strictly quantitative – all about statistics and numbers, and less about the human experience of officers and the public. So we at Axon supported an independent study by Crest Advisory, a leading consultancy in the UK policing, justice and public safety sectors, to assess the impact of enabling technologies on Cumbria’s constabulary.

FEATURE: Law enforcement around the world has relied increasingly on DNA as a crucial tool in solving crime; but without specific production standards to protect against the contamination of crime scenes, killers could have escaped justice while innocent people faced conviction and even execution, as Will Paton, Marketing Manager for scene-of-crime technology specialists RollsTechGlobal, explains.