The use of technology by criminals is impacting at an unprecedented scale the ability of the police to fulfill their role in society. Almost any crime may now have a digital aspect, from the very simple distribution of illegal material to murder.
Nigel Jones has recently retired from the Kent Police Computer Crime Unit and is currently developing training programmes for cybercrime investigators and forensic computer analysts. He has been closely involved with the topic at a national level within ACPO and at an international level within European Commission high-tech crime discussions and those in the Lyon Group of the G8.
He will talk about what constitutes cybercrime and present some real life cases to show the type of difficulties that investigators encounter, including issues such as disclosure, forensic examination of seized computers, and the practical effects of the Human Rights Act on law enforcement's ability to conduct investigations. He will also discuss the issues of data retention and preservation, along with the challenges posed to law enforcement by EU data protection legislation.
The talk aims to show how working police officers are (sometimes) managing to gather evidence, despite all the challenges they face.