NIST spreadheads guide for first responders on coping with electronic evidence.

Meeting strongly expressed needs of the criminal justice community, the NIST Office of Law Enforcement Standards (OLES) has completed a guide on electronic evidence for law-enforcement personnel first responding to a crime scene, a challenging and increasingly important new forensic area. The guide has been published by the National Institute of Justice as Electronic Crime Scene Investigation: A Guide for First Responders. OLES led the activity resulting in the guide through identification of and contact with national and international forensic professionals experienced in the details of handling electronic crimes. OLES was able to bring together a disparate group of people and through various interactions, including meetings at NIST, was able to develop a series of consensus positions for publication.

Law enforcement officers called out to investigate a complaint or criminal activity in progress will have this added resource available, the first in a series devoted to electronic evidence and associated issues. The guide offers simple explanations on how to recognize potential electronic evidence, how to collect and transport the items or media in a fashion that will maintain the integrity of the evidence and meet challenges in the courtroom. The guide can be downloaded in ASCII text and .pdf format from the NIJ web site; http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/pubs.htm, using the locator number NCJ 187736.

CONTACT: Susan Ballou, [phone]; [e-mail].