Effective resource management in digital forensics: an exploratory analysis of triage practices in four English constabularies

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Emerald via the DOI in this recordPurpose: Building on the findings of a British Academy-funded project on the development of digital forensics in England and Wales, this article explores how triage, a process that helps prioritise digital devices for in-depth forensic analysis is experienced by digital forensic examiners and police officers in four English police forces. It is argued that while as a strategy triage can address the increasing demand in the examination of digital exhibits, careful consideration needs to be paid to the ways in which its set-up, undertaking and outcomes impact on the ability of law enforcement agencies to solve cases. Design/methodology/approach: The findings presented are the result of ethnographic observations and semi-structured interviews. They emphasise the challenges in the triage of digital exhibits as they are encountered in everyday practice. The discussion focuses on the tensions between the delivery of timely and accurate investigation results and current gaps in the infrastructural arrangements. It also emphasises the need to provide police officers with a baseline understanding of the role of digital forensics and the importance of clearly defined strategies in the examination of digital devices. Originality/value:This article aims to bridge policy and practice through an analysis of the ways in which digital forensic practitioners and police officers in four English constabularies reflect on the uses of triage in digital forensics to address backlogs and investigative demands. Highlighting the importance of digital awareness beyond the technical remit of digital forensic units, it offers new insights into the ways in which police forces seek to improve the evidential trail with limited resources.British AcademyEconomic and Social Research Council (ESRC

Digital media investigators: challenges and opportunities in the use of digital forensics in police investigations in England and Wales

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Emerald via the DOI in this recordPurpose In-depth knowledge about specific national approaches to using digital evidence in investigations is scarce. A clearer insight into the organisational barriers and professional challenges experienced, alongside a more detailed picture of how digital evidence can help police investigations are required to empirically substantiate claims about how digital technologies are changing the face of criminal investigations. The paper aims to focus on the introduction of digital media investigators to support investigating officers with the collection and interpretation of digital evidence. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on ethnographic and interview data collected as part of an Economic and Social Research Council-funded project on the application of digital forensics expertise in policing in England and Wales, this paper examines the changing face of investigations in relation to escalating digital demand. Findings The analysis presents the national and regional organisational parameters of deploying digital expertise in criminal investigation and examines some of the challenges of being a digital media investigator (DMI). Through testimonies from DMIs, digital forensic practitioners, investigating and senior officers and forensic managers, the analysis explores the organisational tensions in the collection, processing, interpretation and use of information from digital devices for evidential purposes. Research limitations/implications The paper offers an empirical basis for the comparative study of how the DMI role has been implemented by law enforcement agencies and its fit within broader institutional considerations and processes. Practical implications The development of the DMI role has raised questions about the supply of digital expertise, especially to volume crime investigations, and tensions around occupational divisions between scientific and operational units. Social implications The findings show that while the introduction of the DMI role was much needed, the development of this valuable provision within each force and the resources available require sustained and coordinated support to protect these professionals and retain their skills. Originality/value This study contributes to the growing sociological and criminological literature with an ethnographically based perspective into the organisational and occupational tensions in the identification and processing of digital evidence in England and Wales.Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC

Managing Policing Demand for Digital Forensics through Risk Assessment and Prioritization in England and Wales

This is the final version. Available on open access from Oxford University Press via the DOI in this recordDigital forensic helps to unlock the evidential opportunities presented by digital devices. Ninety per cent of all cases in England and Wales carry a digital element and identifying the devices with the most evidential value is central to dealing effectively and efficiently with the demand for digital forensic (DF) analysis. This article offers an ethnographically informed, empirical analysis of how police requests for in-house DF examinations are organized in 35 forces in England and Wales, and the mechanisms, contexts, and challenges of managing-related internal demand, which have been rarely examined systematically in both policing and DF practitioner literature. The analysis illustrates how an updated understanding of risk and prioritization is needed to address the growing demand for DF analysis. The findings call for updated, systematic approaches that encourage the forecasting of internal policing demand collaboratively and bridge between the operational and the technical sides of investigations.Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC

Dirty Work? Policing On-line Indecency in Digital Forensics

This is the final version. Available on open access from Oxford University Press via the DOI in this recordMore than 80% of the work undertaken by digital forensics examiners deals with images of sexual abuse of children. While a growing body of literature analyses the emotional dimensions of coping with such material and the need to minimise exposure to it, less attention has been given to the day-to-day organisational arrangements in which such images are processed. Using ethnographic observations and interviews with practitioners, police officers and senior managers in four constabularies in England, this article examines the tension-ridden place for managing extensive contact with indecent images of children and argues that despite handling of transgressive material, digital forensic examiners distance themselves from imputations of being ‘dirty’ workers.Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)British Academ

On practical problems to compute the ghost propagator in SU(2) lattice gauge theory

In SU(2) lattice pure gauge theory we study numerically the dependence of the ghost propagator G(p) on the choice of Gribov copies in Lorentz (or Landau) gauge. We find that the effect of Gribov copies is essential in the scaling window region, however, it tends to decrease with increasing beta. On the other hand, we find that at larger beta-values very strong fluctuations appear which can make problematic the calculation of the ghost propagator.Comment: 15 pages, 5 postscript figures. 2 Figures added Revised version as to be published in Phys.Rev.

Transfer of learning between unimanual and bimanual rhythmic movement coordination: transfer is a function of the task dynamic.

Under certain conditions, learning can transfer from a trained task to an untrained version of that same task. However, it is as yet unclear what those certain conditions are or why learning transfers when it does. Coordinated rhythmic movement is a valuable model system for investigating transfer because we have a model of the underlying task dynamic that includes perceptual coupling between the limbs being coordinated. The model predicts that (1) coordinated rhythmic movements, both bimanual and unimanual, are organised with respect to relative motion information for relative phase in the coupling function, (2) unimanual is less stable than bimanual coordination because the coupling is unidirectional rather than bidirectional, and (3) learning a new coordination is primarily about learning to perceive and use the relevant information which, with equal perceptual improvement due to training, yields equal transfer of learning from bimanual to unimanual coordination and vice versa [but, given prediction (2), the resulting performance is also conditioned by the intrinsic stability of each task]. In the present study, two groups were trained to produce 90° either unimanually or bimanually, respectively, and tested in respect to learning (namely improved performance in the trained 90° coordination task and improved visual discrimination of 90°) and transfer of learning (to the other, untrained 90° coordination task). Both groups improved in the task condition in which they were trained and in their ability to visually discriminate 90°, and this learning transferred to the untrained condition. When scaled by the relative intrinsic stability of each task, transfer levels were found to be equal. The results are discussed in the context of the perception–action approach to learning and performance

Complete O(v^2) corrections to the static interquark potential from SU(3) gauge theory

For the first time, we determine the complete spin- and momentum-dependent order v^2 corrections to the static interquark potential from simulations of QCD in the valence quark approximation at inverse lattice spacings of 2-3 GeV. A new flavor dependent correction to the central potential is found. We report a 1/r^2 contribution to the long range spin-orbit potential V_1'. The other spin-dependent potentials turn out to be short ranged and can be well understood by means of perturbation theory. The momentum-dependent potentials qualitatively agree with minimal area law expectations. In view of spectrum calculations, we discuss the matching of the effective nonrelativistic theory to QCD as well as renormalization of lattice results. In a first survey of the resulting bottomonia and charmonia spectra we reproduce the experimental levels within average errors of 12.5 MeV and 22 MeV, respectively.Comment: 54 pages REVTeX with 24 encapsuled ps figure

Measurement of the Strong Coupling Constant from Inclusive Jet Production at the Tevatron pˉp\bar pp Collider

We report a measurement of the strong coupling constant, $\alpha_s(M_Z)$, extracted from inclusive jet production in $p\bar{p}$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}=$1800 GeV. The QCD prediction for the evolution of $\alpha_s$ with jet transverse energy $E_T$ is tested over the range 40<$E_T$<450 GeV using $E_T$ for the renormalization scale. The data show good agreement with QCD in the region below 250 GeV. In the text we discuss the data-theory comparison in the region from 250 to 450 GeV. The value of $\alpha_s$ at the mass of the $Z^0$ boson averaged over the range 40<$E_T$<250 GeV is found to be $\alpha_s(M_{Z})= 0.1178 \pm 0.0001{(\rm stat)}^{+0.0081}_{-0.0095}{\rm (exp. syst)}$. The associated theoretical uncertainties are mainly due to the choice of renormalization scale (^{+6%}_{-4%}) and input parton distribution functions (5%).Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, using RevTeX. Submitted to Physical Review Letter

Measurement of the lepton charge asymmetry in W-boson decays produced in p-pbar collisions

We describe a measurement of the charge asymmetry of leptons from W boson decays in the rapidity range 0 enu, munu events from 110+/-7 pb^{-1}of data collected by the CDF detector during 1992-95. The asymmetry data constrain the ratio of d and u quark momentum distributions in the proton over the x range of 0.006 to 0.34 at Q2 \approx M_W^2. The asymmetry predictions that use parton distribution functions obtained from previously published CDF data in the central rapidity region (0.0<|y_l|<1.1) do not agree with the new data in the large rapidity region (|y_l|>1.1).Comment: 13 pages, 3 tables, 1 figur