Cyber Drive Illinois

Analysis of technology now key to investigations

BLOOMINGTON -- Bloomington Detective Mike Fazio remembers a former police chief and his thoughts about the prospects of technology in law enforcement.

"I remember him saying that we don't need computers and computers would never be a major part of law enforcement in Bloomington," said Fazio, a 28-year department veteran.

Today, more than 300 million computers are threaded into U.S. life, available at home, work, public places and on most cell phones.

The BPD Cyber Crime Unit started in late 2004 with a single computer and a laptop. But even within the department, its use was unclear until it became key in a 2008 case that hit far too close to home.

"The interesting thing ... is that up until then, the department didn't understand what we were doing with digital forensics," Fazio said. "It's difficult to demonstrate what we do or explain the benefits. Digital forensics is basically a new frontier, and the Bloomington Police Department had no idea that technology like this was even possible.

It was this case that sealed the unit's existence in the department."

In that case, the cyber unit dug into a family computer and reconstructed pornographic Web pages and pictures depicting police raping women. Those images, Fazio said, played a big part in gaining a serial-rape conviction against then-Sgt. Jeff Pelo.

Pelo raped four women between 2002 and 2005. Fazio said Pelo would commit the crimes, and then come to work as shift supervisor investigating the crimes.

"He was very good at cleaning out his active computer of any evidence, but after multiple search warrants, we came upon an abandoned computer at his home," Fazio said.

Last year, Fazio said the department started using a cutting-edge technique that uses online database information. The department can identify people who trade child pornography over the Internet, and search warrants can be issued based on that. Once confronted with such evidence, the offenders often admit guilt, Fazio said.

He estimates that about 80 percent of investigations now involve digital forensics work.

The digital forensics lab at Normal Police Department is smaller than at BPD, but allows some digital forensics, said Lt. Dave Warner, who manages the lab.

The labs are expensive, with specialized equipment and software, yet it's important police stay committed to this type of investigating, he added. Agencies should have a digital specialist but provide basic training to officers, who collect evidence at the scene.

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National Genealogical Society quarterly

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The Ancestry Family Historian's Address Book, A Comprehensive List of Local, State, and Federal Agencies and Institutions and Ethnic and Genealogical Organizations

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