“With ever-expanding digital evidence comes the need for true digital transformation,” said Chris Wooten, Executive Vice President, NICE. “Today, evidence is increasingly digital, but investigative processes around collecting, analyzing and sharing evidence have not adapted to the digital age. This is a major concern for forces worldwide. That’s why we undertook this survey of FBINAA members and other police executives.”

The NICE Digital Evidence Management Benchmark Study results were aligned with another Digital Evidence Management benchmark study that NICE conducted with UK-based CoPaCC in 2018 titled Digital Evidence Management: User Perspectives. Among the key results of the more recent NICE Benchmark Study conducted in cooperation with the FBINAA:

• 66% of respondents acknowledged “driving around to collect CCTV video from homes and businesses” and “copying and burning CDs and DVDs” as the most time-consuming aspects of the criminal investigation process.
• 52% ranked manual handling of evidence on DVDs, CDs, thumb drives and paper case files among their greatest evidence management challenges. Challenges with collecting and preparing CCTV video came in a close second.
• All survey respondents reported having to log into and work in a large number of data silos and systems which impacts the speed and accuracy of investigations.
• 33% were concerned that when using the current investigative processes they could miss a crucial piece of digital evidence that should have been shared as part of case disclosure.
• 62% said they were actively looking for a solution to their digital evidence management challenges and nearly a quarter had already allocated resources and funding to acquire new Digital Evidence Management technology.

“The NICE Digital Evidence Management Benchmark Study reveals there is substantial consensus among departments, not only around the challenges of managing digital evidence but more importantly around the need to develop effective strategies to improve investigative workflows,” added Wooten. “As a one-stop solution for automating manual processes around the collection, management, analysis and sharing of all types of digital evidence, our NICE Investigate solution addresses the law enforcement pain points uncovered in this research by helping agencies accelerate their digital transformation.”

To download a copy of the complete NICE Digital Evidence Management Benchmark Study, click here.