A Digital Forensic Examiner Is On The Receiving End Of The Phone Call

The popular television show, CSI: Crime Scene Investigations has been on the air for 12 years, and it has brought forth the behind-the-scenes actions of criminal investigations, even if its portrayals are not always scientifically accurate. This has caused an interest in the forensic sciences that has led most people to a skewed view of how a criminal investigation actually works. The reality of a criminal investigation is that it is generally more tedious and difficult than the theory of criminal investigation would have you believe. By examining the forensic and investigative procedures of the case of Pamela Foddrill, it is apparent that the theory of criminal investigation was not representative of the procedures concerning examination

Introduction This paper will critically analyse an incident that occurred during my placement on a forensic low secure unit. The Low secure unit provides

The Garry Veeder case is one of many aspects. Garry Veeder was a 58-year-old forensic scientist who worked as a trace evidence technician for the New York State Police for over 34 years. In his job as a trace evidence technician, he examined things such as hairs, fibers, glass and other evidence collected during forensic investigations. Veeder worked in this position until late 2008 when he committed suicide after being investigated for falsifying data in many criminal cases he investigated. Investigators reported that Veeder “routinely failed to conduct a required test when examining fiber evidence, then falsely indicated in case records that he had performed the test. (Fisch p.6)” Veeders misconduct went unnoticed for many years because of the lack of supervision at the Investigation Center in which he was employed. As soon as Veeder became a target for investigation, the whole investigation center’s reputation began to spiral downhill. Forty-four district attorneys reviewed the criminal cases that Veeder investigated as a forensic evidence technician.

The Louisiana State Police Crime Laboratory was developed to provide the highest quality of professional forensic services to the State of Louisiana. The commitment of the agency includes applying sound scientific principles in all analyses, being responsive to our customers, conducting our operations in a fair and objective manner, and being a leader in advancing forensic science. The mission of the laboratory is to assist all of the local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies in Louisiana in the investigation of criminal activity (Office of Public Safety Services, 2015). The agency is also committed to providing accurate and timely scientific analysis of items of physical evidence and reporting the results of those analyses to appropriate entities in the criminal justice community.

I believe my argument was compelling, and should sway Board members toward investing in the development of a forensic lab. The biggest difference between corporate investigation and law enforcement investigation is the individual leading the charge. Dedicated forensic specialists can recover evidences across multiple platforms and work within the guidelines of forensic laws to unearth the truth. Public law should provide the blueprint to which organization create company policy. During an investigation, forensic specialist must follow federal, state and city statue; while adhering to company mandate. In closing, presenting facts in a professional manner carries as much weight as the fact-finding

This will allow any active footprints to be collected that would otherwise disappear if the information system was restarted (Nelson et al., 2015). After the live data is secured, the team will proceed to create forensic images of the identified desktops before proceeding to do the same with the appropriate servers. Due to the medical information that could potentially be collected during this imaging process, these hard drives will be placed into their appropriate containers before being placed in a travel safe and secured to ensure the devices are protected from easy theft in

Tashanna N Garcia is currently enrolled in the Masters of Criminal Justice, with a concentration in Forensic Science, program at Saint Leo University. Tashanna comes from a military background where she served as an officer in the United States Marine Corps. Her military training was essential to her transition into law enforcement, where she spent the last ten years working for two police departments as a patrol officer and then for the Alabama Department of Public Safety as a Traffic Homicide Investigator for the State Troopers. Tashanna hopes to return to the law enforcement field in an administrative capacity and has a passion for forensic disciplines. Correspondence concerning this paper should be addressed to Tashanna N Garcia,

In all of the United States, and maybe all of the world, there is no greater forensic team. Solving seemingly impossible cases, and cases that are not as they seem, the team baffles other leading labs and stuns juries. There is no case that is too difficult for this extraordinary team to solve, no challenge too great.

I am in receipt of the Court Order in the above referenced matter dated January 26, 2017 appointing me to conduct a forensic evaluation. To date, the evaluation has begun and appointments are ongoing and have been scheduled through the end of July.

Monday not long after arriving at the office SAC Mark Pro received a phone call concerning assistance from the GBI for a death in Adel. CSS Kellyn Wilkes was the CSS on call. The other intern “Olivia” and I rode with CSS Wilkes to the scene. Upon arrival, we were still waiting on a search warrant before entering the house. However, since pictures are always taken before entering a house in death investigations we took pictures from different distances as well as vehicles on the property before entering the residence. Additionally, DNA swabs were taken before entering the home as well. I watched and observed as evidence was obtained and as the residence was searched. Afterward, evidenced was logged into an online database and left with the Adel Sherriff department.

The second aspect we identified is that of public safety, given the nature of our work as investigators. Digital forensic investigations can have a very drastic impact on public safety from a community wide concern to that of the health and well being of a single person. Often times when a mobile device is explained by a forensic investigator, the investigation is related to a criminal matter where a person is either harmed physically harmed or harmed in the less

On March 23, 2016, I was assigned this case to follow up. This investigation involves Mr. Margen Napoles a sixteen year old T.C. Williams High School student. Ms. Napoles runs away from home frequently and refuses to answer questions or follow the rules of the home. Margen’s mother Bessy Napoles has been consistent in reporting these incidents in an effort to assist her daughter. Bessy suspects that her daughter might be using drugs and involved in an intimate relationship with a man. There is no information on who the man is and the only evidence provided recently was a copy of a medical record which Bessy Napoles supplied. The record was forwarded through inter office

When our unit arrived at this residency, we knew exactly what kind of evidence we were searching for because the local court gave us a warrant which gave us the permission to investigate all computer belonging possessed, conducted, or governed by the suspect. So, as we conducted our more thorough search, we observed and obtained numerous hard drives, laptops, thumb drives, and related data storage systems, as well as associated hardware which contained thousands of images and videos involving child pornographic content. We proceeded to photograph each one of these pieces of evidence exactly where we found them. We took medium range, as well as close-up pictures of this evidence and added them to our detailed sketch of the crime scene. We were extra cautious and even had another crime scene investigator within our department videotape our walk-through to help record and narrate our time-line, as well. Once all of the evidence was photographed, documented and sketched properly according to procedural standards, our unit then began to correctly mark and package it. It is very important that this step is done during any kind of investigation because if it is not completed, the evidence obtained is virtually useless. The computers we located were connected to a network and turned on, so we photographed what was on the screen first and then unplugged the power cord from the back of the tower. If computers are not unplugged the correct way, then the unit risks losing the files that are stored on it which would greatly impact the case (U.S Department of Homeland Security, N/A). Anyway, once we unplugged it, we placed labels upon all of the other cords before we disconnected all of them, so we knew how to plug them back in later. We placed the equipment in packaging marked as “fragile” and made sure to keep all of it away from any kind of damaging elements including martinets and radio transmitters. We continued to

Being that forensic science is a great interest of mine and that one day I want to be an expert in the subject, it is important to know the ins and outs of it. Forensic science solves cases and brings justice to several victims and their families’ every day. The workers on the scene and behind the scenes in the lab have a big role to play and must always be aware of their responsibilities and the consequences they will face if they don’t. What drew me to this article was that errors were being made on cases that came out of a very busy, populous, and crime filled state. Those errors not only have the potential to affect the validity and truthfulness of those certain cases but, they could have also possibly negatively affected someone’s livelihood.

On April 05, 2016 at approximately 1518 hours, I was dispatch to 2004 Pine Street in reference to a death investigation. Upon my arrival, I met with Detective Campbell who was the lead Investigator at the scene. Detective Campbell stated that the victim neighbors reported a strong smell coming from the victim’s (Cortiz Lazarz) residence. The neighbors called 911 and Officer Volk was the first responded officer on scene. Defective Campbell and officer Volk stated that the victim located on the living room floor, fazing the south from the residence. Detective Campbell requested I process the scene for evidence and documentation.