Digital forensics - backlogs and timeframes
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I've now completed my FOI requests, regarding the time it takes for police to do digital forensic examinations.
I asked two questions. One was the number of devices waiting to be examined and the other was how long, on average, do examinations take.
Most police forces could answer the first question, but only around half of them could give a timeframe. I have published the details below. The first figure is the number of devices in the backlog. The second is the average number of days taken to process a device.
This is only a snapshot, but it should give some indication of which areas can expect to experience the longest delays. On it's own though, it does not explain why many investigations take 2 years or more to come to court. There are clearly other factors that delay the investigation as well and I cannot say what those are.
Avon - 857 devices, 161 days
Bedfordshire - 329, 60 days
Cambs - 492, 110 days
Cheshire - 533, n/a
Cleveland - 785, 116
Cumbria - 624, n/a
Derbyshire - 317, 30 days (if high priority)
Dorset, Devon & Cornwall - 256, 86 days
Durham - 118, n/a
Dyfed Powys - 112, n/a
Essex - 617, n/a
Gloucestershire - 224, 14.5
Gwent - 186, n/a
Hampshire - 500, n/a
Hertfordshire - 230, 28
Humberside - 629, n/a
Kent - 1110, 229
Lancashire - 598, 65
Leicstershire - 339, 160
Lincolnshire - n/a, n/a
Gtr Manchester - 1306, n/a
Merseyside - 1225, n/a
Met (London) - 810, 267
Norfolk - 411, 68
North Wales - 753, 104
Northants - n/a, n/a
Northumbria - 825, n/a
North Yorks - 238, 90
Nottinghamshire - 316, n/a
PSNI - 1058, n/a
Scotland - 4394, n/a
South Wales - 589, n/a
South Yorks - 319, 210
Staffordshire - 412, 113
Suffolk - 411, 68
Surrey - 355, 49
Sussex - 465, 103
Thames Valley - 1359, n/a
Warwickshire - 527,n/a
West Mercia - 435, n/a
West Midlands - 337, n/a
West Yorkshire - 1339, 90
Wiltshire - 197, 69
I asked two questions. One was the number of devices waiting to be examined and the other was how long, on average, do examinations take.
Most police forces could answer the first question, but only around half of them could give a timeframe. I have published the details below. The first figure is the number of devices in the backlog. The second is the average number of days taken to process a device.
This is only a snapshot, but it should give some indication of which areas can expect to experience the longest delays. On it's own though, it does not explain why many investigations take 2 years or more to come to court. There are clearly other factors that delay the investigation as well and I cannot say what those are.
Avon - 857 devices, 161 days
Bedfordshire - 329, 60 days
Cambs - 492, 110 days
Cheshire - 533, n/a
Cleveland - 785, 116
Cumbria - 624, n/a
Derbyshire - 317, 30 days (if high priority)
Dorset, Devon & Cornwall - 256, 86 days
Durham - 118, n/a
Dyfed Powys - 112, n/a
Essex - 617, n/a
Gloucestershire - 224, 14.5
Gwent - 186, n/a
Hampshire - 500, n/a
Hertfordshire - 230, 28
Humberside - 629, n/a
Kent - 1110, 229
Lancashire - 598, 65
Leicstershire - 339, 160
Lincolnshire - n/a, n/a
Gtr Manchester - 1306, n/a
Merseyside - 1225, n/a
Met (London) - 810, 267
Norfolk - 411, 68
North Wales - 753, 104
Northants - n/a, n/a
Northumbria - 825, n/a
North Yorks - 238, 90
Nottinghamshire - 316, n/a
PSNI - 1058, n/a
Scotland - 4394, n/a
South Wales - 589, n/a
South Yorks - 319, 210
Staffordshire - 412, 113
Suffolk - 411, 68
Surrey - 355, 49
Sussex - 465, 103
Thames Valley - 1359, n/a
Warwickshire - 527,n/a
West Mercia - 435, n/a
West Midlands - 337, n/a
West Yorkshire - 1339, 90
Wiltshire - 197, 69
Thank you for this, it's really interesting to compare them all. And to see where our people fit in the local picture.
it must have taken you days to compile all this
x
it must have taken you days to compile all this
x
That's a great piece of work Edel with very interesting results.
Thank you for this - a long wait in store for us then x
Results were spot on for our area x
Great work.. Does this also include devices outsourced? x
Interesting stats. The Figures for the Met seem really low considering the population they must cover.
We are Scotland our devices were all checked in the house on the day of the knock, took away oh phone returned next day to arrest him for what was found, quickest turnaround ever
Just think all the people that are going through devastation linked to these statistics, it's truly truly heartbreaking......
Thank you an interesting read on all the different areas.
OH arrested on the Tuesday, phone checked at police station, charged on wednesday, in court Thursday. Other devices were taken but returned a month later. Nothing on them.
OH arrested on the Tuesday, phone checked at police station, charged on wednesday, in court Thursday. Other devices were taken but returned a month later. Nothing on them.
Just on the outsourcing issue. I did ask them to include devices outsourced to external forensic checkers. But most forces did not use outsourcing. Only about 5 or 6 of the total, from what I recall.