Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Cell Phone Forensics in a Correctional Setting: Guidebook

"This guidebook provides correctional administrators with a brief, yet comprehensive and informative, view of cell phone forensic technologies. It reviews the evolving role of cell phone forensics in correctional institutions and presents issues to consider when acquiring and implementing these technologies. It also addresses the opportunities and challenges involved in selecting technologies and implementing them in correctional settings" (p. 8). Six chapters follow an executive summary: statement of the problem-reasons for the importance of cell phone forensics; what agencies need to know about cell phone forensics; technology; establishing a cell phone forensics capacity-assessing resource needs based on historical and projected data, funding needed for start-up and ongoing operations, issues related to procuring technology tools, software and hardware, photo documenting, staff resources required, training requirements, and physical site requirements; implementation-legal issues and case law, law enforcement coordination, prioritizing evidence to prevent backlogs, evidence collection and retention issues, importance of policies and procedures, and lessons learned and success stories; and conclusion.