BILL REQ. #:  Z-0267.1 

Read first time 01/15/09.   Referred to Committee on Public Safety & Emergency Preparedness.

     AN ACT Relating to evaluating the need for a digital forensic crime lab; and creating a new section.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   (1) The legislature finds that there is a growing incidence of crimes committed against Washington residents, especially against children that involve the use of electronic technologies, including computers and the internet. Currently, law enforcement's ability to investigate and prosecute technology-involved crimes and online child sex predators is significantly limited by the lack of computer forensic capabilities.
     (2) Therefore, in the interest of promoting the safety of our children and communities, providing better investigative tools for law enforcement and prosecutors, and to hold online child sex predators accountable, the legislature directs the Washington state patrol and the office of the attorney general to convene a work group to study the need for a virtual digital forensic lab in the state of Washington. The work group shall review state-of-the-art technologies as utilized by existing digital forensic labs in other states, and evaluate their cost and effectiveness. The work group shall also consider the relative advantages and disadvantages of regional and centralized digital forensic labs, and the merits of staffing such labs exclusively with uniformed officers or a mix of law enforcement and civilian personnel.
     (3) In order to accomplish these objectives, the work group shall seek input from the computer software industry and representatives of existing digital forensic labs as how to best centralize forensic analysis of electronic devices and computers, expedite the review of digital forensic evidence, increase the expertise and specialization of forensic examiners, allow investigating officers to conduct basic searches for information and images remotely, and consolidate the custody of all digital forensic evidence in a central repository so that it may be remotely accessed by all law enforcement agencies across the state.
     (4) The work group shall report back to the legislature by October 30, 2009, and make recommendations regarding the advisability of establishing a Washington lab that would employ newly designed technologies focused specifically on the needs of the state of Washington.