RCFL workstations are equipped to exploit many different types of electronic devices. With phones now holding half a terabyte—the equivalent to multiple movies or tens of thousands of photos—the forensic team is constantly faced with sifting through an overwhelming amount of information.
For most of us, it’s a familiar frustration: getting locked out of your phone after forgetting a password or trying to fix a water-damaged device. For the Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory (RCFL) teams, the situation is more urgent. Every successfully accessed device—whether it’s a phone found at the scene of a homicide investigation or a computer linked to crimes against children—is a potentially critical piece of an investigation puzzle.
RCFLs are part of a national network of state-of-the-art, full-service forensics laboratories and training centers sponsored by the FBI. The FBI provides the facility, equipment, training, and operational funding, with partner agencies assigning personnel to help staff the laboratory.
Each of the FBI’s 17 labs focuses on extracting and analyzing digital evidence—pulled from devices like mobile phones and computers—in support of federal, state, and local investigations. Whether it’s in support of a terrorism, violent crime, or child sexual abuse material case, RCFL examiners are capable of locating deleted, encrypted, or damaged files and data that may serve as evidence in a criminal or national security investigation.
The lab in Kansas City, Missouri, known as the Heart of America RCFL, serves as a critical resource for some of the region’s most complex cases involving digital forensics. Detective Josh Clevenger of the Kansas City Missouri Police Department has been part of the Heart of America RCFL task force since 2010 and cites partnership and collaboration as a core of the program. Before joining, his expertise was in building computers, a skillset that sparked his interest in the digital-forensics world.
“This job came open, and it was like a dream job,” said Clevenger. “Knowing what they do made me want to come here and be part of the RCFL.”