TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) - Constant technological growth has created a new frontier in criminal investigations. Recognizing that, the University of Alabama, in partnership with area law enforcement agencies, has created a new electronic forensics lab that will allow the investigation process to speed up.
The new Joint Electronic Crime Task Force, which officially began operations in September, is headed up by the University of Alabama Police Department.
The Tuscaloosa Police Department and the Northport Police Department have officers assigned to the task force, and the University of Alabama Department of Criminal Justice uses the facilities for academic purposes.
Six student interns job-shadow investigators to learn how to process evidence.
The task force also processes evidence for other area, state and federal agencies.
The task force began with the idea to bridge the academic and law enforcement communities, said Kathryn Seigfried-Spellar, an assistant professor in UA’s criminal justice department and the academic liaison between the university and area law enforcement.
“Law enforcement officers are actively assisting with cases, and they process digital forensic evidence,” Seigfried-Spellar said. “We also allow student interns to sort of job-shadow and learn the process. As far as the academic side, we’re hoping to promote more research and bring together different academics with law enforcement.”
The task force, which is funded by a $60,000 grant from the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs, allows law enforcement to investigate electronic devices like tablets, computers, cell phones and even gaming consoles to discover if any communications involving criminal activity occurred on the device.
Seigfried-Spellar said it’s about finding links to criminals through call and message logs, images, videos, emails and other digital evidence.
“We have so many digital devices now, and almost every type of crime involves some sort of digital evidence,” she said. “Any digital evidence that you can think of is what we’ll process here.”
Having the task force in Tuscaloosa will speed up local criminal investigations because electronic devices won’t have to be sent away for forensic examinations elsewhere, she said.
Seigfried-Spellar said most labs are booked with an eight- to 12-month waiting period, which can halt an investigation.
“The goal is for us to just assist the community,” she said. “Instead of waiting for that eight- to 12-month layover with evidence and backlogs, hopefully anybody can bring their evidence to us here and we can expedite the process.”
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Information from: The Tuscaloosa News, https://www.tuscaloosanews.com
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