RCFL Network Opens 12th Laboratory

Washington, D.C. - The FBI’s Operational Technology Division (OTD) in partnership with the FBI’s Buffalo Division, Erie County Central Police Services, and several other local law enforcement agencies, commemorated the opening of the Western New York Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory (WNYRCFL) in Buffalo. The WNYRCFL is the 12 th laboratory to join the RCFL national network—providing digital forensics expertise and training to law enforcement agencies throughout 17 counties in Western New York. With the opening of the WNYRCFL, the RCFL program is now available to approximately 3,600 law enforcement agencies in 15 states.

RCFLs are full-service digital forensic laboratories and training centers that are devoted entirely to the examination of digital evidence in support of local, state, and federal criminal investigations. Regionally based law enforcement agencies assign personnel to work as RCFL Examiners, and appoint one representative each to serve on the RCFL’s Executive Board. The WNYRCFL’s participating agencies include the Erie County Sheriff’s Office; Immigration and Customs Enforcement; New York State Attorney General’s Office; Niagara Falls Police Department; U.S. Secret Service and; the FBI’s Buffalo Division.

Kerry E. Haynes, Executive Assistant Director of the FBI’s Science and Technology Branch said, “The WNYRCFL is capable of supporting nearly every type of criminal investigation imaginable – from crimes against children to terrorism. What’s more, because of the laboratory’s prime location and proximity to Canada, the Buffalo law enforcement community along with the border patrol now has another powerful resource at its disposal.” The OTD provides training, laboratory operating procedures and principles, technical support, equipment and certification to RCFL Examiner trainees, and assumes a majority of the start-up costs, including space acquisition and construction.

Digital forensics is the application of science and engineering to the recovery of digital evidence in a legally acceptable manner. RCFL Forensics Examiners apply their skills on a variety of digital devices such as computers, personal digital assistants, cell phones, and video cameras. Examiners are impartial and are trained to extract information that may serve as evidence in a criminal or terrorism investigation .

For more information about the RCFL Program, visit their Web site on www.rcfl.gov.