Report Identifies Criminal Justice Needs Related to Digital Evidence

A new report describes the results of a National Institute of Justice-sponsored research effort to identify and prioritize criminal justice needs related to digital evidence collection, management, analysis and use. Digital Evidence and the U.S. Criminal Justice System: Identifying Technology and Other Needs to More Effectively Acquire and Utilize Digital Evidence, presents specific needs to improve utilization of digital evidence in criminal justice. Several top-tier needs emerged from the analysis, including education of prosecutors and judges regarding digital evidence opportunities and challenges; training for patrol officers and investigators to promote better collection and preservation of digital evidence; tools for detectives to triage analysis of digital evidence in the field; development of regional models to make digital evidence analysis capability available to small departments; and training to address concerns about maintaining the currency of training and technology available to digital forensic examiners. To read the report, go to http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR890.html. A companion document, Interactive Tool for Ranking Digital Evidence Needs, presents the prioritized needs and allows users to see how their priorities would change when the importance of different digital evidence objectives are changed (http://www.rand.org/pubs/tools/TL175.html).