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Louisville home to digital forensic investigation center
Source: Kentucky.com web site
Posted on Thu, Oct. 19, 2006
BRETT BARROUQUERE
Associated Press
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - A new digital forensics center opened Thursday in Louisville, a move Kentucky law enforcement said will help them catch and prosecute criminals.
The Kentucky Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory will serve as a central place for law enforcement officers to seek help in crimes involving computers and other technology used to store or hide information, said Tracy Reinhold, the FBI's special agent in charge for Kentucky.
The center allows law enforcement agencies from around the state, including Kentucky State Police and the Louisville and Lexington police departments, to pool their resources to more quickly process and analyze digital evidence of a crime, Reinhold said.
The FBI is providing two analysts to the center, while the Louisville and Lexington police departments, the Kentucky Bureau of Investigation and Kentucky State Police are providing one person each.
"One mind is great," Reinhold said. "Fifteen minds are fantastic."
The center, housed at the University of Louisville's Shelby Campus, is being funded in part by a $2.96 million federal grant. It is one of 14 such centers around the country in cities ranging from Buffalo, N.Y., to Portland, Ore., but the only one housed on a university campus.
Cases such as the Enron prosecutions, the BTK serial killer in Kansas and multiple public corruption cases have been handled through digital forensic labs around the country, Reinhold said.
Inside the center are a variety of computers and equipment that can be used to download information and images from computers, IPods, miniature thumb drives and most digital information storage devices, said James Harris, the director of the center.
Ten workstations are set up for investigators to review everything from digital photographs to audio clips.
"In general, most departments don't have enough funding to perform an adequate examination on the type of digital evidence we can do here," Harris said.
The center will be open to law enforcement agencies around Kentucky, with cases handled on a priority basis, Harris said. There are jurisdictional issues to be worked out before law enforcement agencies in nearby states, such as Indiana or Ohio, could send agents to work in the center, Harris said.
Lexington Police Chief Anthany Beatty said the lab will be a tremendous help to local law enforcement, providing training, equipment and relationships to officers that weren't previously available.
"Post-9/11, we in local law enforcement have to be a partner," Beatty said. "We have to be a player, we have to be at the table."
[Original Article on the Kentucky.com web site ]