Our digital forensics team have a vast array of specialist skills which help officers from across all areas of policing catch criminals and put dangerous offenders who have targeted some of the most vulnerable members of our community behind bars.

Using their skills, trained to treat each and every electronic device like it is its very own crime scene whether that be phones, computers, tablets, satnavs, games consoles, you name it, our expert team of digital forensics experts have probably examined it.

Experts in their field, the team made up of police officers and police staff have gained a wealth of experience and knowledge to be able to know exactly what it is they are looking for when it comes to examining devices seized as a part of ongoing investigations.

Beth, an experienced digital forensic analyst, has worked in our digital forensics team for six years having previously worked as IT technician in the private sector said: “When I studied my degree in Computing, if you’d have asked me then where I would end up in my career, I would have never though it would be as an Analyst in Digital Forensics for the police.

“On a weekly basis I will be assigned a number of different investigations and working alongside the team, my role is to examine the mobile phone devices as well as tablets.

“As a part of the examination, working alongside the officer leading the investigation I will analyse data in line with the investigation strategy. This can include call data, text/chat messages, web browsing history and the images and videos they have stored on the device.”

Whilst Beth works across all areas of policing, a lot of the investigations she focuses on generally involve our Police Online Investigation Team who’s main role is to investigate those committing offences online against children.

Beth continued: “Each day is completely different because each investigation is so varied and you really never know what you’re going to come across on somebody’s device, that is why I always do everything I can to look at the bigger picture and approach everything with an open mind when I’m conducting an examination.

“Working with the Police Online Investigation Team as a part of their investigations, once we have received devices, depending on how many exhibits have been seized by officers from the suspects, these can sometimes take days or even weeks to analyse.

“Whilst it can be a difficult part of the job assisting in grading the severity of the indecent illegal images we find on devices, the job is made easier knowing that we are contributing to potentially safeguard children, not just across our force area but also working with other forces across the country.

“One investigation that I assisted with that will always stay with me was a man who’d been abusing two children. They should have been safe with him and able to trust him and he’d been abusing them, alongside other children for years. What they suffered was horrific and unforgivable and thanks to the work we do in digital forensics, I was able to contribute to making sure he was sent to prison for over 20 years.”

Working alongside Beth analysing digital devices our Digital Forensics Department also have a team of expert technicians including Senior Digital Forensic Technician Joe who’s role alongside Beth is to triage computers devices seized as well as overseeing the forensic acquisition of them. Joe has worked in the team for eight-years as well as volunteering his time as a Special Constable.

Joe said: “Working alongside Beth my role is to oversee the triage of computer devices that come into our department. As a part of that, I ensure that each device is preserved in the original format they come to us in, we will never work live from the device unless it is absolutely necessary.

“I will start by taking a bit for bit copy of the hard drive and its content, with some devices this can take a few hours, for others it is over 24-hours until all of the data has been copied across and the forensic acquisition has been complete.

As the hard drive is copied over, Joe and his team will run a report against the hard drive to identify positive matches for indecent illegal images as well as exploring the lines of enquiry highlighted by the officers as a part of their investigation.

Joe continued: “The data will then be handed over to an analyst to assess and grade and I will begin rebuilding the physical device back to the original state. If a case goes to court and the suspect is found guilty, the devices are then destroyed.

As our communities continue to rely upon technology, and the accessibility across all areas of our lives changes, adapts and advances, we continue to adapt our investigative techniques to investigate criminality.

The number of digital devices that our Digital Forensics Team examine year on year continues to grow and the team will continue to do everything they can to support victims and protect the most vulnerable people in society by ensuring digital evidence is captured and preserved with the same degree of skill and professionalism as traditional forms of forensics such as fingerprints and DNA.