Two NIJ-supported projects offer innovative ways to process digital evidence.

Computers are used to commit crime, but with the burgeoning science of digital evidence forensics, law enforcement can now use computers to fight crime.

Digital evidence is information stored or transmitted in binary form that may be relied on in court. It can be found on a computer hard drive, a mobile phone, a CD, and a flash card in a digital camera, among other places. Digital evidence is commonly associated with electronic crime, or e-crime, such as child pornography or credit card fraud. However, digital evidence is now used to prosecute all types of crimes, not just e-crime. For example, suspects’ email or mobile phone files might contain critical evidence regarding their intent, their whereabouts at the time of a crime, and their relationship with other suspects.

In an effort to fight e-crime and to collect relevant digital evidence for all crimes, law enforcement agencies are incorporating the collection and analysis of digital evidence into their infrastructure...

more https://www.nij.gov/journals/280/pages/new-approaches-to-digital-evidence-acquisition-and-analysis.aspx