New Technology to Help Police Investigations

The is getting a new piece of equipment that will help them extract information from cellular devices as they conduct criminal investigations.

On Tuesday, the approved a request from the department to purchase a CelleBrite unversial forensic extraction device. The device, which costs $8,584.99, is being paid for entirely by a grant from the Community Impact Fund.

 “It’s almost like being a fly on the wall, there’s so much information in there,” Lt. Vincent DeMaio told Patch. “It will be helpful in any number of investigations, including cyberbullying, narcotics, fraud and robberies.”

DeMaio said the department will apply for a warrant to seize a device unless a suspect gives consent to use it.  Without their own forensic device, New Canaan police have been sending cell phones and PDAs to Easton or to the state crime lab for forensic study, which DeMaio said has slowed down investigations. He said it can take months to get reports back from Easton, and as much as two years to get reports from the state.

“It has hurt a number of our investigations, this would give us ability to have information in a hour half hour," he said.

Aside from slowing investigations, he said, borrowing the technology from other sources has meant the evidence is out of the hands of the department.

“Once I release to another organization, there’s a gap in the chain,” he told the Selectmen. “If we keep it all in house, my officers can maintain continuity of evidence.”

At the Board of Selectmen meeting, DeMaio stressed repeatedly how appreciative the department is of the New Canaan Community Fund’s generosity. It was a sentiment he expressed again, to Patch.

“We’re very grateful to the New Canaan Community Foundation It’s a piece of equipment that is really going to help us do our job.  It’s been frustrating not having the equipment we need to do our investigations,” he said. “This is really going to help us."