Support to the NIJ Electronic Crime Technology Portfolio

The e-Crimes Technology Support Center (eCTSC) at the West Virginia High Technology Consortium (WVHTC) Foundation will use an integrated approach to synchronize these following activities for maximum effectiveness: needs identification, product development, testing and evaluation, technology transfer and commercialization, and training. This effort will contribute to the reduction of crime laboratory backlogs in computer forensic investigations by supporting development (through the identification of technology needs), test and evaluation and introduction of more accurate more effective computer forensic tools and implementation of better training for computer forensic analysits.

Under the technology transfer task, we will identify law enforcement needs and assess technologies appropriate to those needs. The key to this task is the input from Electronic Crime Partnership Initiative (ECPI) analyses of NIJ Technology Working Groups (TWGs) recommendations, law enforcement officials' requests, and Subject Matter Experts (SME) advice. The eCTSC will effectively use these information sources, site visits, dialogue with sponsors and practitioners, interactions with academia and industry, and rigorous requirements analysis tools to chart a path forward.

In terms of backlog reduction, the E-Crimes Technology Support Center will assist in bringing more affordable computer forensic tools to State and local law enforcement as well as increase the knowledge base on proper forensic methods and tool usage. These efforts combined will have a dramatic impact on the backlog of computer forensic cases facing State and local law enforcement.

nca/ncf