Chicago gets FBI lab tuned to computers
Computers often leave clues that criminals don’t think to hide–and that cops aren’t necessarily trained to find. Gathering evidence from hard drives, cellphones and handheld devices has become just as important to solving crimes as knowing how to dissect a room or interview a suspect. Now the FBI has tapped Chicago to become part of a national network of crime labs dedicated to computer forensics, the country’s fastest-growing segment of law enforcement. Six Chicago-area agencies, including the police force of the University of Illinois at Chicago and the Illinois attorney general’s office, will help the FBI staff the $2.3 million lab scheduled to open March 1. Full Story