Computers, The Suspect At The New Lab
Law enforcement agencies in the Denver, Colo., metropolitan area will join FBI agents in staffing a new high-tech, regional computer forensic lab that will be used to gather evidence from the computers of suspects involving murder, child molestation, rape, child pornography, domestic violence, robbery, and fraud.
As many as 15 forensic examiners, including four who are FBI agents, are expected to work in the 18,000-square-foot facility, which cost the federal government $2 million to build. Moreover, the federal government will contribute $1 million annually to update equipment, software, and training.
Slated to open within a year, the new federal lab will be used to investigate 200 to 300 FBI cases a year across the state and Wyoming, and the facility also will be used to perform counterterrorism duties.
“Almost every crime we see involves computer or digital evidence,” says Phillip B.J. Reid, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Denver division.
The computer forensic examiners will use regular computers and software only available to police to gain a copy of a suspect’s hard drive, which will yield a trail of emails, photographs, video, Web sites visited, and other information stored in PCs. These days, experts have been called on to gather evidence from hand-held and Global Positioning System devices as well.
Abstracted by the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center(NLECTC) from the Denver Post (03/15/04) P. B1; Gonzales, Manny .