This Police Foundation report, commissioned by the Transforming Forensics Programme, is intended to help inform the development of a new national Digital Forensics Strategy for the police service. It has two aims: first to present evidence of the potential value that could be added to the work of policing and the wider criminal justice system from investment in digital forensics capability and, second, to set out five main challenges that need to be overcome if we are to make the most of these opportunities and ensure that crimes are investigated to the standards society expects.
Unleashing the value of digital forensics
Resources
Project Authors
Stephen Walcott is a Researcher at the Police Foundation. As part of the Foundation’s Strategic Review of Policing in England and Wales, he is working to understand the factors that influence victimisation rates, fear of crime and trust in policing. He is also working on a project focusing on victimisation and fear of crime among food delivery riders working in the gig economy and has completed research on understanding the challenges and potential value of digital forensics.
Prior to joining the Police Foundation in November 2019, Stephen worked as an Analyst at a risk management consultancy. He has an MA in Geopolitics, Territory and Security from King’s College London and a BA in Geography from Swansea University.
Dr Rick Muir is Director of the Police Foundation, the UK’s independent policing think tank. He has led the Foundation since 2015 and oversaw its work on the Strategic Review of Policing in England and Wales. He was previously Associate Director at the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), leading the Institute’s research on public services, including policing and criminal justice. He has a D Phil in Politics from the University of Oxford. He is currently a Visiting Professor at Northumbria University and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA). He was previously a local councillor in both Oxford and Hackney.