Dixie State University’s globally recognized Digital Forensics Crime Lab is celebrating its 10th anniversary.
Over the last decade, the lab has established itself as a premier digital crime lab, conducting trainings for over 110 law enforcement agencies across the globe. The lab has grown from working on 18 cases in its first year to now averaging 350-400 cases a year and specializes in data retrieval from small devices such as cellphones and laptops. The data is then sent back to the law enforcement agency it came from to be analyzed.
“We continue to grow and provide world-class small device digital forensics to the law enforcement community nationwide,” Mark Spooner, director of the crime lab, said.
Under faculty supervision, students work on ongoing cases, embracing DSU’s “active learning. active life.” approach to education. Not only do students gain skills by working real cases, they also write papers with faculty members to present at conferences around the globe.
“Two students and myself are writing a research paper and they will not only get to travel overseas to a conference, but they will be presenting that paper at the conference,” Spooner said. “That, to me, is a huge opportunity for them.”
In addition to helping with cases from around the world, the lab, which is comprised of current and former law enforcement personnel and nationally recognized experts in cellular telephony, helps local law enforcement to help make Southern Utah a safer place.
“The crime lab has been incredibly easy for our department to work with. There is no bureaucracy or red tape to muddle through,” Kyle Bell, detective for the Washington City Police Department, said. “It’s just investigators and examiners interacting one to one.”
With most criminal cases now including digital evidence such as email, voicemail, hard drives and digital cameras, a workforce skilled in the digital extraction process necessary for investigations and prosecutions is in high demand. In addition to the lab, Dixie State offers a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice with emphases in Criminology and Digital Defense & Security. With no other Criminal Justice programs in Utah offering four-year degrees in these specialized areas of training, DSU’s two emphases are unique in the state.
Republished courtesy of Dixie State University.