As technology advances, cell phones and computers have become a common component at many crime scenes, said Leander Police Chief Greg Minton. In an effort to keep up with the era of information, the Leander Police Department added a forensic computer lab.

The lab allows the police department to lift data off computers and cell phones in as little as 30 minutes—a time that makes a world of difference from past protocols, Minton said.

“If we had a phone at an incident or an arrest or a situation, we would have to take that phone as a piece of evidence,” Minton said. “[Before the opening of the lab] we would have to submit that phone to the state for the state to do some kind of forensics on it.”

With the state as the one-stop-shop for device forensics, an analysis could take as long as six months, and according to Minton, the overall population growth across Texas only put more pressure on the state. Because charges cannot be substantiated without official evidence, offenses remained pending for several months.

Minton said when the Round Rock Police Department started using a forensic computer lab, the Leander Police Department and other departments in Georgetown, Liberty Hill and Cedar Park started sending their devices to Round Rock in attempts to take pressure off the state.

But as backlogging woes returned, these departments started seeking out their own forensic computer labs.

Jason Johnson, a detective with Leander’s criminal investigations division, took the lead to obtain funding and training for a forensic computer lab.

Johnson received training from National Computer Forensics Institute, a training funded by the Secret Service. After the five-week training in spring 2018, the Leander Police Department received the equipment for the first workstation, including the forensic machine. City Council was able to fund a second workstation, and the lab was fully operational in May.

With training and equipment for two workstations combined, the total cost toward the forensic computer lab was approximately $65,000, according to Lt. Billy Fletcher of the criminal investigations division. The Secret Service contributed approximately $25,000, and the city of Leander contributed a little under $40,000.

While the lab is just two computers on the surface, Minton said its addition to the police department is invaluable.

“It’s probably one of the most important resources we have that you never really see. You never really know about [it] until you need it,” Minton said. “Not having it, now having it, we couldn’t do without it.”