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Has been in new digs for a month
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Youngstown police Capt. Jason Simon demonstrates the way a cellphone can be checked in the department’s computer and cellular forensics room.
By Joe Gorman
Youngstown
Although it has been around for seven years, the police department finally has given the equipment that examines electronic evidence from crime scenes its own home.
The new lab was unveiled last month and is now in a room in the police department that is dedicated solely to analyzing evidence collected from computers, cellphones and other electronic devices.
Capt. Jason Simon, who, along with Detective Sgts. Mike Lambert and Dave Sweeney, is certified to examine electronic evidence, asked that the location of the new space be kept secret because of the sensitive nature of the work and equipment used.
Before, the equipment used to inspect electronic evidence was in a room on the second floor of the police department that was used for a variety of other purposes and held offices for several different divisions of the department.
Because of the nature of their work, Simon said it is better to have the lab in one room, so officers can concentrate and focus without interruption.
Simon said he has been analyzing electronic evidence since 2007. He, Lambert and Sweeney attend different schooling in order to be certified, Simon said.
The lab also has seen more equipment purchased over the years, because of the increasing technology of computers and cellphones, Simon said.
“You have to keep up with the technology and the bad guys,” Simon said.
Besides phones and computers, the lab also can look at video footage from security cameras, Simon said.
However, some electronic evidence still is sent to the state Bureau of Criminal Investigation to be analyzed because some of it is very sophisticated and the department does not have the equipment to analyze it, Simon said.
He said the lab has been able to retrieve deleted text messages, voice messages and emails. In one case while helping Warren police, the lab was able to retrieve photos from a flip phone that had been run over and had a cracked screen, Simon said.
Having the lab allows the department in some cases analyze its own evidence, which in turn can lead to cases being solved faster, Simon said.