3 Digital Forensic Scientist
From Ana: image here https://unsplash.com/photos/black-ipad-on-brown-wooden-table-VKK4E7dhTdMDigital devices such as computers and mobile phones are typically seized by non-expert police officers. Typically, they are seized from individuals, during property searches, and from scenes of crime. Seizing officers should follow procedures for the recovery of digital devices that helps to maintain the integrity of data held on those devices, while also considering device security features that can make them challenges to analyse later.
Digital forensic experts recover and analyse data stored on digital devices that have been seized, to identify salient evidence that could be used to progress an investigation and be presented and tested in court. Where possible, experts will make an exact copy of a device, analysing the copy to preserve the state of the original device. Data extracted from devices can include digital artefacts such as documents, emails, texts, instant messages, images, and internet history. Digital forensic experts are trained to use specialised software to help them identify digital evidence using techniques such as keyword searches to find information containing specific words and terms, file filtering to isolate files that match certain criteria (e.g., over a certain size, of a certain type such as a video), and timeline analysis that helps in the identification of files and other digital artefacts that have been created, modified, or access during specific periods of time.
In Dave’s case, a Digital Forensics expert located the stolen devices through GPS, and this led police to arrest a suspect. When taken into custody, the suspect (Mike) stated that he was a member of the gym, frequented the locker room, but had nothing to do with the alleged attack.
Image here: https://unsplash.com/photos/four-brown-wooden-benches-inside-locker-room-O9VrKe1mZgYActivity 4
a.
contamination
b.
expert misconduct
c.
bias of experts
d.
inaccurate analysis
e.
unqualified examiners and analysts
f.
unvalidated techniques
g.
other
The correct answers are a, b, c, d, e, f and g.
Answer
In the USA, research shows that although members of the public believe forensic science remains a key part of criminal investigation, they perceive a high risk of error ‘about half of the time at each stage’ of the forensic process. This makes the public sceptical about the accuracy of some forensic science techniques (Kaplan, et al., 2020). Generally, errors in forensic science can be caused by practitioner, analytical or systemic failures may contribute to wrongful convictions. These mistakes are therefore drivers of distrust. To help mitigate this, oversight and regulatory measures have been established in many jurisdictions, such as the Forensic Science Regulator in England and Wales, the Organisation of Scientific Area Committees (OSAC) for Forensic Science in the USA. These bodies aim to ensure and improve the quality and reliability of forensic evidence provision, such as by establishing quality standards, ensuring accreditation of forensic science service providers (FSPs), competency of practitioners and investigating and sanctioning FSPs for failures and practices that do not meet required standards.