Robert Merriott

Forensic Notes is revolutionizing how police officers document investigations and is intended to be used by patrol officers and detectives alike. Well documented investigations are critical, because these days, even a police officer’s sworn testimony is not enough. More and more, officer actions are questioned and debated. As a result, notes andassociated documentation must be proven to be authentic and contemporaneously written. Contemporaneous notes ensure the officer is seen as credible in the courtroom or during internal investigations. However, notetaking is only part of the solution. Forensic Notes also has an Enterprise component that includes a Cybercrime Investigations Management application and Exhibit Management software for Digital & Video Forensics Units. These specialized investigative units require customized applications to accurately document and manage the submission, assignment and processing of requests for service. For these applications, documentation is critical to ensure exhibit continuity and proper disclosure. Plans for our Enterprise applications are in the wire-frame stage and designed with first-hand knowledge of what functionality is required within these specialized units. The first contact during any investigation is often with a witness who may hold valuable electronic evidence on their mobile device. It is critical that officers have the ability to quickly acquire this information and make it available to supervisors and lead investigators so that critical and time-sensitive decisions can be made. This is why we created Forensic Witness.There are almost 18,000 separate Police Agencies in the United States representing over 670,000 sworn members. The majority of these members still rely on paper notebooks and are therefore in a great position to move towards electronic notes as more agencies embrace technology and the cloud.