Digital Policing: Bridging the Gap between Cyber Security, Digital Forensics and Law Enforcement

This book explores the growing relationship between digital technology, criminal investigations, and modern policing. With the increase of technology used to assist and commit crimes, digital evidence now features in most investigations, therefore, the requirement for a collaborative approach between legal personnel is essential. Officers, investigations, and criminal justice professionals now require a practical understanding of how cyber security and digital forensics support the pursuit of justice.

With this book written for students, frontline officers, investigators, and those new to digital investigations, this explains the key concepts in clear, accessible language without assuming prior technical knowledge. This book introduces the principles of confidentiality, integrity, and availability (CIA), examines the digital evidence commonly encountered in investigations, and explores the cyber-attacks that compromise systems and evidence. Following the understanding of devices and attacks, the next section guides the reader through the digital forensic processes, technical processes, evidential integrity, governance frameworks, compliance requirements, and the professional standards used across England and Wales.

With this understanding achieved, there are a wide range of policing scenarios, case studies, and guidance to further embed knowledge and understanding of cyber and digital within law enforcement. The book demonstrates how digital evidence should be identified, preserved, analysed, documented and presented in court; but additionally, the importance of building strong cyber culture, as without this, the other stages would be ineffective. The result is a practical bridge between cyber security, digital forensics, and everyday policing practice in an increasingly digital society.

This is essential reading for Professional Policing students taking courses on criminal investigation, crime scene management, digital policing, intelligence analysis, and cyber security.