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For Immediate Release
August
31, 2006
http://www.fbi.gov
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Washington D.C.
FBI National Press Office
(202) 324-3691
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RCFL NETWORK
OPENS 12TH LABORATORY
Washington,
D.C. -
The FBI’s Operational Technology Division (OTD)
in partnership with the FBI’s Buffalo Division, Erie
County Central Police Services, and several other local
law enforcement agencies, commemorated the opening of the
Western New York Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory
(WNYRCFL) in Buffalo. The WNYRCFL is the 12 th laboratory
to join the RCFL national network—providing digital
forensics expertise and training to law enforcement agencies
throughout 17 counties in Western New York. With the opening
of the WNYRCFL, the RCFL program is now available to approximately
3,600 law enforcement agencies in 15 states.
RCFLs are full-service digital forensic laboratories
and training centers that are devoted entirely to the examination
of digital evidence in support of local, state, and federal
criminal investigations. Regionally based law enforcement
agencies assign personnel to work as RCFL Examiners, and
appoint one representative each to serve on the RCFL’s
Executive Board. The WNYRCFL’s participating agencies
include the Erie County Sheriff’s Office; Immigration
and Customs Enforcement; New York State Attorney General’s
Office; Niagara Falls Police Department; U.S. Secret Service
and; the FBI’s Buffalo Division.
Kerry E. Haynes, Executive Assistant Director of the
FBI’s Science and Technology Branch said, “The
WNYRCFL is capable of supporting nearly every type of criminal
investigation imaginable – from crimes against children
to terrorism. What’s more, because of the laboratory’s
prime location and proximity to Canada, the Buffalo law
enforcement community along with the border patrol now
has another powerful resource at its disposal.” The
OTD provides training, laboratory operating procedures
and principles, technical support, equipment and certification
to RCFL Examiner trainees, and assumes a majority of the
start-up costs, including space acquisition and construction.
Digital forensics is the application of science and engineering
to the recovery of digital evidence in a legally acceptable
manner. RCFL Forensics Examiners apply their skills on
a variety of digital devices such as computers, personal
digital assistants, cell phones, and video cameras. Examiners
are impartial and are trained to extract information that
may serve as evidence in a criminal or terrorism investigation
.
For more information about the RCFL Program, visit their
Web site on www.rcfl.gov.
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