GMP celebrates being named one of the leading forces for digital innovation in latest HMIC report

Greater Manchester Police was singled out in the latest HMIC report as being one of the leading forces across the country for innovative practice used in digital forensics.

GMP’s Digital Forensic Investigation Unit is developing fast and bolstering their staff numbers in order to provide the best service to victims of crime.

Forensics work is an imperative strand in policing and brings together a range of dedicated groups of forensic experts who are qualified in specialist disciplines.

Digital Forensic Operations Supervisor - Garry Pilkington

In the UK this year, it has been recorded that there are over 71 million mobile connections with over 80 per cent of the population using social media, this has caused online grooming crimes to jump by more than 80%, which is why digital involvement to identify victims of child sexual abuse and the acquisition of remotely stored electronic data ‘Cloud’ is so important. These few statistics alone demonstrate the magnitude and significance of digital forensics within law enforcement, and the requirement of innovative solutions to manage the scale of digital data.

Digital Forensic Operations Supervisor Garry Pilkington, who has worked at GMP for over 7 years and has recently won the Chief’s Award for Innovation earlier this month, speaks about his experience working within GMPs digital forensics department and explains why the use of technology is an important and often overlooked strand of police work.

“Since my time working in Forensic Services, the Digital Forensic Investigation Unit has undergone significant investment and restructuring. This has seen some remarkable innovative solutions developed by staff working within this specialist field. I am just a small cog working with some amazing people.

Garry Pilkington after winning the award for Innovation at the Cheif's Awards earlier this month 

“Some of the innovative projects implemented by myself and the team, include, developing GMP’s capability in identifying victims of child sexual abuse through the use of technology, making us one of the lead forces in the UK in utilising technology to identify victims. I have also assisted in evaluating and implementing the use of artificial intelligence to help the grading process of indecent images of children, therefore, reducing the time spent by staff reviewing material and improving wellbeing at work.

"Along with my team, I have redefined GMP’s ability to manage registered sex offenders by working directly with the Home Office to implement fast triage capabilities within force and collaborating with other supervisors, GMP’s Communication Liaison Unit, and other forces to introduce tactics to acquire remote stored electronic data, also known as ‘cloud’ data.

“One case that really stands out for me was a murder investigation I was working on, I was able to improve the unit’s working relation with the Major Investigation Team, including implementing advanced digital forensic methodologies to acquire best evidence, for example, the acquisition of navigational instructions presented by Google and Apple Maps on a smartphone.

“In a modern digital world, electronic data can provide vital evidence in policing and plays a key role in protecting the public, safeguarding vulnerable individuals and prosecuting criminals.”