OKLAHOMA CITY (Feb. 23, 2024) – The Office of the Attorney General is witnessing steady growth in its work uncovering digital evidence. In 2023, the office processed and analyzed 828 pieces of technology representing 219 separate cases. Collectively, that amounts to 258.44 terabytes of data – roughly the equivalent of 861,636,960 books.
Two digital forensics agents in the Attorney General’s office are tasked with acquiring and analyzing data on seized devices – including cell phones, tablets, laptop and desktop computers, and storage devices – to determine the existence of criminal evidence.
Attorney General Gentner Drummond praised the work of the agents.
“The fast pace of technological advances makes digital analysis more critical than ever before, particularly in criminal conspiracies and child pornography cases,” he said. “As the AI revolution is certain to make this work all the more challenging, I am proud of how this unit of the Attorney General’s Office is fighting crime.”
The digital forensics agents assist numerous state and local entities ranging from local police and sheriffs’ offices to federal and tribal law enforcement agencies. As a recent example, an agent with the Attorney General’s office responded with the Blaine County Sheriff’s Office on Feb. 9 to investigate a case of internet crimes against children. While on scene, the agent analyzed a cellular phone and located images on the device that resulted in the arrest of a suspect and a 4-year-old child being removed from the home for safety.
While forensics evidence in crimes against children and marijuana trafficking comprise the bulk of the agents’ work, types of cases processed also encompass murder, unattended death, fraud and other forms of drug trafficking.
The Attorney General’s office anticipates that digital evidence analysis will double, at minimum, for 2024. So far this year, the agents have worked 62 cases with 122 devices processed and analyzed.