Divisions/District Stations — Computer Crimes - What We Do

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What We Do The Montgomery County Police Computer Crime Unit is tasked with investigating crimes that involve the illicit use of computer systems. More specifically, our most investigated crimes involve: E-mail threats/harassment Online/Internet Fraud Unauthorized Computer Access Theft/Destruction of Computer Data Hard Drives often contain evidence that can lead to successful prosecution of criminals. The investigators in the Computer Crime Unit receive continuos training in the field of computer forensics/data recovery, Internet technologies, and networking. Careful forensic analysis often yields evidence that assists in making a conviction in court. The Computer Crime Unit receives cases directly from citizens who call the unit as well as assisting in forensic analysis for other investigators within the department.

The Investigative Process

Identify Crime

To start, we must determine if a crime has occurred and whether digital data exists, and if it does, where it might be located. The timing of requests is also critical. Users may unintentionally destroy evidence or simply overwrite files in their normal course of business. We can help you move quickly to preserve and collect evidence.

Next, Computer Forensics investigators conduct preliminary interviews, identify the location of target computers, and develop question outlines for witnesses.

Forensic Analysis

Once a duplicate image has been made of the suspects computer, the work really begins. This is the forensic analysis phase—when we search through the media for any relevant evidence.

During the forensic analysis, investigators employ a variety of techniques to find hidden or forgotten evidence. By restoring deleted or password-protected files, for example, we are frequently able to recreate an event or chain of events. Even gaps in data or file erasures can be revealing.

Sometimes our efforts lead to a fairly detailed picture of fraud, sabotage, or conspiracy. Even with just bits of data—fragments of memos, for example— we are often able to show wrongdoing.

Litigation

Once the evidence has been collected, a detailed report is prepared and submitted as evidence for use in the litigation stage. Documents, pictures, sounds and video often arrive in court as well depending on the success of the forensic analysis.