The London Metropolitan Police Service has announced that it will begin using a new tool that gives officers the ability to extract data from a mobile device in a matter of minutes. The service will be deployed in 16 boroughs across the city using a touch screen device “Radio Tactics – Aceso Kiosk”.
Data like call history, photos, videos, and email and social networking info will be able to be pulled from a typical phone including SIM and Memory Cards in an approx 20 minutes.
More than 300 Met Police employees will be trained to use the device, and the service says that it’s being implemented mainly to increase speed. Currently suspected mobile devices are sent to a digital forensics lab for processing, but the Aceso Kiosk means that processing can be done while the suspect remains in custody. “Our ability to act on forensically-sound, time-critical information, from SMS to images contained on a device quickly gives us an advantage in combating crime, notably in terms of identifying people of interest quickly and progressing cases more efficiently,” said the Met Police’s Stephen Kavanagh. However, as Computerworld UK points out, not details have been given as to what will happen to extracted data should a suspect ultimately not be charged after an arrest. The kiosks are set to be rolled out “in the coming weeks.”
Source The Verge
