Ian Baxter
4/12/16
Forensics
Current Event 19
The article that I read discussed the importance modern technology and social networks hold in forensic investigations. For example, investigators can now discover the demographics of a person just based off of basic information on their phones. However, more than anything else, the amount of information stored on phones and computers today make those items very valuable in forensic investigations. Certain things such as search history, Facebook posts, Instagram, pictures on the phone, online purchases and of course GPS location history can have a major impact on the outcome or result of a case or investigation. The main purpose of the article, however, was not to discuss the numerous possibilities that are presented with mobile phone forensic investigations, but was to discuss the problems that forensic scientists are faced with on the subject of mobile phone forensic investigations. There is an issue in the court of law, when it comes to going into the private property of an individual, be it a laptop or a phone. There is the lagging problem of privacy that prevents this forensic practice from blowing up and becoming the major part of forensic science that it should become.
As a teenager with a mobile phone and both Facebook and Instagram accounts, this subject is very relevant to my personal life. However, because we live in the age of mobile phones and social networking, this forensic practice definitely applies to humanity. People would like to have their privacy respected, yet are willing to complain about companies like Apple refusing to share the personal information of terrorists from their mobile phones. The situation poses a real moral dilemma, as certain people can not have this practice enforced on them more than others do. Ultimately, it is up to the courts in individual cases to decide for or against the use of mobile phone forensic investigations.
I thought that the article was well written and organized. I was impressed with the author’s writing skills and ability to write in a very orderly fashion. Different forms of modern technology were subcategorized in a way in which I was able to easily tell what I was learning about. Overall this was a very interesting article and the author was able to write in a way that was not only efficient, but interesting and important.
Works Cited
Prinsloo, Martin. "Cell Phone Forensics Provides Legally Defensible Evidence." Daily Business Review. N.p., 12 Apr. 2016. Web.
1 comment:
I thought that you did a really good job summarizing the article in a very short, clear and efficient way. You also explained why the article had been written due to 1. the development of the case when they found traces of another man’s sperm on the girl’s body and 2. that the suspicion towards Kevin Brown might have been wrongful since he worked at the lab that analyzed the girl’s body after she was found dead so it is possible that the DNA just got mis matched, so you don’t have to wonder why the author choose to write the article while reading your review. I also liked the flaws that you pointed out about the article such as the unnecessary details that the author included in the article, which I agree with.
I think that one thing you should have written about is the other girl’s body that was found nearby the location of Claire’s and had similar details to it since that was why the FBI decided to investigate the two cases together due to the possibility of it being a serial killer. It would just make it easier for the reader to understand that Kevin Brown was not suspected right away but rather six years later due to the other girl’s case shining light on the Claire’s case so more investigation was done. I also think that another thing you could have mentioned in the part of your review where you discuss the relevance to today is the importance of ongoing research because after all, the would not have been able to find Mr. Brown’s sperm on Claire’s body if it wasn’t for the more modern techniques that have been developed.
It surprised me that it takes so many years to solve murder cases and it makes me angry to think about all of the cases that go unsolved. It surprised me that contamination at labs is considered a possibility when examining DNA results since I would expect the labs to be extremely clean and the scientists to be very careful when analyzing DNA, especially when it comes to cases similar to that of Claire’s.
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