UA, UAPD to Create Cybercrime Lab

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The University of Alabama’s department of criminal justice, in conjunction with The University of Alabama Police Department, recently received a $60,000 grant from the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs to start a digital forensics crime lab at UA.

Law enforcement officers will be able to process any evidence in which a crime occurred via computer technology, from laptop computers to video gaming systems. The lab will assist local, and hopefully national, law enforcement agencies with processing digital evidence for use in cyber-crime prosecutions.

“Almost all crimes involve some form of digital evidence, not just cybercrimes,” said Dr. Kathryn Seigfried-Spellar, assistant professor of criminal justice at UA. “It could be a murder where someone was hired via the Internet or a drug deal where cell phones were used to make arrangements.”

With the help of The University of Alabama Police Department, Seigfried-Spellar said this digital forensics lab, which partners UA and other area law enforcement agencies, is the first joint partnership of its kind in the state. Key components for UA are the opportunities students will have to study cybercrime and the chance for expansive research for faculty.

Seigfried-Spellar, whose research interests include computer deviance and cyber forensics, said law enforcement plays a pivotal role in generating research ideas and information. Researchers and practitioners are often working on the same things but can achieve greater results by working together, she said.

“Several National Science Foundation and National Institute of Justice grants want collaboration between academics and practitioners,” Seigfried-Spellar said. “And by pulling together local PD resources … this lab will be able to share software, equipment and expertise, and it will help centralize things.”

Seigfried-Spellar said the lab should begin processing cases by late-September. She expects student interns to begin in January 2015.

“Cybercrime poses an increasing danger as more of our daily transactions are digital and online,” said Gov. Robert Bentley, who approved the grant. “This new lab will have the expertise to uncover digital evidence and give criminals one less place to hide.”

UA’s criminal justice department is part of the College of Arts and Sciences, UA’s largest division and the largest liberal arts college in the state. Students from the College have won numerous national awards including Rhodes Scholarships, Goldwater Scholarships, Truman Scholarships, and memberships on the USA Today Academic All American Team.