The Problem
Slow investigations and missed leads due to swivel chair data searching
A busy US county sheriff’s department’s serious crime and policing intelligence team were growing more and more frustrated with their data investigation practices. They described their process as being a swivel chair across multiple systems with the common denominator often being a postit note to identify common search terms in up to 16 different systems. This was particularly problematic in the extraction of forensics data from phones captured in crime scenes and looking to find clues and patterns to known criminals, suspects, missing persons etc. This led to long laborious investigations that were error prone and where clues were being missed.
The Solution
Siren Investigative Intelligence with Global Search, Record Consolidation & Forensics
Siren implemented the Siren Investigative Intelligence Platform with a singular focus of delivering a single pane of glass data search experience across all data sets to the Sheriff’s analyst and investigators. This incorporated forensics data, RMS, CAD and multiple databases (arrest warrants, missing persons, traffic offenses etc.). Siren ran a data consolidation process to give a more intuitive simplified search experience. Siren also integrated with the UFED feeds coming from their implementation of Cellebrite to integrate phone data (messages, contacts, locations etc.) into the overall investigative process. Siren also worked with the client to simplify the data display and reporting capabilities to line up with existing reporting formats.
The Outcome
Faster investigations leveraging all data assets through 1 pane of glass
Since implementing Siren the client has been able to radically optimize the workflow around data search in investigations. The swivel chair problem has been fixed. They no longer treat digital forensics as a separate data silo but are now an integral part of the data investigation and analysis process. The analysts and investigators now have the ability to access data of 16 different systems plus digital forensics in a single place. This has led to faster, better quality investigations. The analysts are now seen as key parts of the front line investigations as they have been able to provide better quality and more leads to lead investigators.
