Magnet SHIELD from Magnet Forensics Inc. is a digital evidence capture tool that empowers first responders to recover digital evidence such as photos, videos and chat messages from consenting victims and witnesses in the field. The solution is free for police agencies.
Digital forensic labs worldwide are being overwhelmed by the volume of devices and digital evidence that police agencies are recovering for investigations. More intensive investigations may require agencies to collect upwards of 10 devices. Some agencies have months-long backlogs for digital evidence processing and they’re negatively impacting case closure rates and public trust. Witnesses and victims are often hesitant to assist investigations by submitting their devices because of concerns surrounding the period of time they’ll be without them and privacy.
Magnet SHIELD was purpose-built for first responders with limited technical training to assist in low-risk digital evidence collection in the field, reducing the need for police agencies to seize and manage a substantial amount of non-critical data. In investigations into crimes with multiple witnesses such as a hit-and-run or a public assault, police agencies may only need to recover a single video or photo from each witness or victim.
When they arrive on-scene, officers can use Magnet SHIELD, which is compatible with any Microsoft device including in-car MDT, tablets and laptops, to capture only the critical evidence in a matter of minutes.
Rather than share the full contents of their devices, witnesses and victims can choose the individual photos, videos and messages to submit to officers and provide consent for them to be used as evidence in an in-app consent form. The evidence collected by Magnet SHIELD is output onto a report that has been deemed acceptable by courts in multiple jurisdictions. The outputs are interoperable with police agencies’ digital forensics, digital evidence management and records management platforms.
With concerns around privacy alleviated, victims and witnesses are more likely to consent to assisting an investigation. A municipal police agency with 800 sworn officers adopted Magnet SHIELD and 70 percent of its officers found that it was easier to convince witnesses and victims to participate in investigations.
