Rocky Mountain Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory Achieves International Program Accreditation from the World’s Leading Forensic Laboratory Accrediting Agency
| FBI Denver July 24, 2013 |
The FBI Denver Division and members of the Local Executive Board of the Rocky Mountain Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory (RMRCFL) held a press conference today to commemorate the laboratory’s latest achievement—International Program accreditation from the world’s leading forensic laboratory accrediting agency, the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors/Laboratory Accreditation Board (ASCLD/LAB).
The RMRCFL opened in early 2006 as a full service digital forensics laboratory and training center devoted entirely to the examination of digital evidence. Accreditation demonstrates to RMRCFL customers and the general public that a laboratory meets or exceeds the rigorous standards established by the international scientific community.
Today’s accreditation ceremony provided an opportunity to celebrate the partnerships that supported the selection of Denver for an RMRCFL in 2004 and that have sustained the laboratory as a vital resource for law enforcement agencies in Colorado and Wyoming.
Thomas Ravenelle, the Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Denver Division, applauded the lab’s achievements, “Today, we celebrate not only our accreditation as one of 43 forensic laboratories in the world to attain International Program accreditation in the digital and multimedia evidence discipline. We also celebrate the outstanding partnerships that have made every service provided at this laboratory possible.”
The FBI provides the facility, equipment, and training for the RMRCFL, one of 16 laboratories in the national RCFL Program. Thirteen participating agencies detail the 19 staff who work at the lab. Participating agencies are
- Adam’s County Sheriff’s Office
- Arvada Police Department
- Aurora Police Department
- Colorado Bureau of Investigation
- Denver District Attorney’s Office
- Denver Police Department
- Douglas County Sheriff’s Office
- FBI-Denver Division
- Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office
- Lakewood Police Department
- Littleton Police Department
- Office of the Attorney—18th Judicial District
- Thornton Police Department
Douglas County Sheriff David Weaver, the co-chair of the RMRCFL Executive Board, said, “Nearly every crime investigated today involves some type of digital evidence—from a computer, a laptop, a cell phone, or from loose media like thumb drives. The services provided here are no longer ‘nice-to-haves’ but critical to 21st Century policing.”
The national RCFL Program represents one of law enforcement’s most successful partnership initiatives. Individuals from more than 130 different agencies work side-by-side in the 16 RCFL’s to provide expert digital forensic services to any law enforcement agency in a lab’s service area. Detailees undergo extensive training to become FBI-certified as computer forensics examiners and must strictly adhere to the laboratory’s quality standards.
Photos of the press conference:
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| FBI Denver SAC Tom Ravenelle addresses the media with Local Executive Board of the Rocky Mountain Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory in the background. |
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| Douglas County Sheriff/co-chair of the RMRCFL Executive Board Dave Weaver addresses the media with FBI SAC Ravenelle to his right and RMRCFL Laboratory Director Sean O’Brien to his left. |
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| American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors / Laboratory Accreditation Board, Board Member Kevin Jones presents certificate of accreditation to SAC Ravenelle and Sheriff Weaver. |
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| District Attorney George Brauchler of the 18th Judicial District addresses the media as a RMRCFL Executive Board Member. |
Additional information about the national and local RCFL Programs: