Digital Evidence Analysis

Laptops, external storage devices, GPS locators, and desktop computers also come in various types. In the article, “Digital Evidence and the US Criminal Justice System” it states the listing and variety of products pose challenges because there is no uniform process to obtain information across makes and models, let alone different types of devices. Keeping archival information regarding older models of cell phones and its features, while keeping up to date with the rapid growth and diversity of technology, is also a challenge with digital evidence that scientists face in forensic laboratories (Houck & Siegel, 2015). Digital evidence can come from all individuals involved in the crime. This will confirm who the suspect and victim spoke with before the crime and the location of the suspect and victim before the crime took place. The investigative workload can easily double when each party has a cell phone or other electronic items because of the time and effort required to extract and sift through information from a single device (Goodison, Davis & Jackson, 2015). When collecting digital evidence, law enforcement need to constantly adapt to the …show more content…
The collection and preservation of digital evidence begins with the first responding officer. The scene my first be secured and legal authority to seize the evidence has been confirmed then devices can be collected. However, there is a process that must be followed to ensure the digital evidence is not damaged. The digital evidence process consists of five phases: identification, collection/acquisition, transportation, analysis/examination, and report( Houck & Siegel, 2015). Following this process is critical because digital evidence can contain non-digital evidence such as fingerprints and neither type of evidence should be damaged or