The rise of digital forensics
In this pandemic year all organisations have been required to adapt to survive. Whether moving meetings online, or developing digital solutions to previously analogue tasks, innovation has been a force for capability. Law enforcement, faced with a surge in digital crime, has been no exception. Innovation is the lifeblood of Forensic Analytics and it’s within this context that we are proud to announce that we have been awarded the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the Innovation category.
Criminals are continuously innovating, and therefore, so too must we. Receiving the Queen’s Award is a badge of honour that we wear with pride. It’s affirmation of what the company does and a recognition of what we have achieved. It’s also a confirmation of the importance of digital forensics when tackling a criminal world where over 90% of all crime now has a digital component.
Whether it’s drugs, kidnap and extortion, people trafficking or some of the new and emerging trends in criminality, such as courier fraud, where criminals prey on vulnerable members of society, the ingenuity of criminals in ceaseless. Continuous innovation by both police forces and ourselves is a necessity.
The Assistant Commissioner for the Met Police recently stated that “during lockdown, we arrested one thousand individuals as part of County Lines drug investigations, we achieved a 90% guilty plea, in doing so saving court and investigators’ time”. This plea rate was achieved using good old fashioned detective work, supported by digital forensic evidence that was so compelling that those arrested had little or no choice but to admit guilt. Every day we have examples of where our software and solutions are enabling the fight against crime. This Award is further recognition of the importance of digital forensics in solving crime today.
Innovation means thinking independently, it means thinking outside the box and doing something that nobody else is doing. This is what we do at Forensic Analytics. In this cat and mouse game of digital forensics, it’s a question of breaking the rules to make new rules in a constant momentum to rise above the challenges that we face. It’s testament to the strength of the relationship that we have with law enforcement that we are invited to help tackle and solve these challenges.
As this Award recognises, it’s the whole of society that benefits from innovation. It’s an honour to be able to play our part in the fight against the ingenuity of criminals, to help make society a safer place.
