Electronic Evidence Discovery, Identification and Preservation: Role of the First Responder and related capacity building challenges

The integrity of electronic evidence is essential for judicial proceedings. In this context, the role of the First Responder for discovery, identification and preservation is considered to be one of the short-term most critical challenge. While the number of devices to be collected was reasonably small and the items were easily identifiable in the past, it is not the case anymore. Many initiatives aim at harmonising technical and legal standards to facilitate electronic evidence exchange, although a consistent approach in basic equipment and training of the field police officer is still missing. Hence, in this paper, we study how synergies between different international organisations create and deploy an innovative and sustainable approach to address capacity building challenges related to the tasks assigned to the First Responder.