Digital Evidence & Discovery Center | Shield Public Safety Training

Shield Public Safety Training

Digital Evidence & Discovery Center

Practical guidance for collecting, preserving, reviewing, disclosing, and presenting digital evidence in an era of cloud platforms, automated systems, artificial intelligence, and rapidly expanding data sources.

Begin an Evidence Integrity Review Explore the Evidence Lifecycle Open Discovery Checklist

Choose a pathway

What are you working on?

Start with the pathway that best matches your immediate task. Each tool produces an issue-spotting summary for operational or legal review.

⌕

I am handling evidence

Review source integrity, metadata, processing history, automated analysis, vendor data, and courtroom readiness.

Launch Integrity Review

⇄

I am preparing discovery

Identify preservation, disclosure, prosecutor-review, and vendor-record issues through a guided decision tree.

Launch Discovery Tool

✓

I am reviewing practices

Evaluate agency procedures for collection, retention, processing, disclosure, access controls, and supervision.

Interactive navigator

The digital evidence lifecycle

Select a stage to review the core documentation questions, common failure points, and operational considerations.

Evidence-type selector

What kind of evidence are you handling?

Select a category to see tailored preservation, authentication, discovery, vendor, and documentation considerations.

Core distinction

Original evidence and derivative material are not the same

Original or source evidence

Original video or audio file
Recorded interview
Native digital photograph
ALPR detection record
Mobile-device extraction
Original body-camera recording

Derivative or analytical material

Stabilised, enhanced, cropped, or annotated video
Automated transcript or translation
AI-generated summary
Investigative lead report
Analyst-created timeline
AI-edited or AI-generated report language

Operational principle: Derivative material may be highly useful, but it should not silently replace the underlying source evidence. Document what changed, who or what changed it, why it changed, and whether the result can be reproduced.

Guided issue spotting

Discovery Decision Tree

Answer the factual questions below. The tool will identify preservation, disclosure, vendor-record, documentation, and legal-review considerations.

Digital Evidence Discovery Review

How this tool works

Select every statement that applies to the evidence. Do not try to decide whether the item is legally discoverable. Simply identify the facts known to you.

When the review is complete, the tool will generate:

a Discovery Risk Level and Discovery Readiness Score;
preservation and vendor-data recommendations;
potential documentation gaps;
questions for prosecutors or agency counsel; and
a printable Discovery Review Report.

Estimated time: 2–4 minutes5 guided stepsPrintable report

Important: This tool is an issue-spotting and documentation aid. It does not determine discoverability, admissibility, possession, control, or legal compliance.

Discovery Review ProgressStep 1 of 5 · 0% complete

About the evidence

Provide enough identifying information to make the generated report useful in the case file. Avoid entering confidential information if this page is being used on a public or shared device.

Agency or organisation

Case or incident number

Evidence type

Reviewer

Date collected or generated

Lead investigator or custodian

Source evidence and custody

This step separates the original or native evidence from exports, screenshots, redactions, transcripts, summaries, enhancements, and other derivative versions.

AI and automated processing

Automated output may include transcripts, summaries, translations, alerts, matches, classifications, enhancements, object detection, or generated report language. Preserve the source material and document the human review.

Investigative use and discovery indicators

Answer based on how the material was actually used. Reliance, incorporation into reports or warrants, and potentially exculpatory or impeaching content may require prompt prosecutor or counsel review.

Preservation and vendor records

Vendor-held data may include audit logs, search history, model versions, confidence values, alternate candidates, cloud-processing records, retention settings, export history, deleted records, and access history.

Preparation framework

Courtroom readiness checklist

Authenticity

What is it, where did it come from, how was it obtained, and who can establish that it accurately represents the relevant data or event?

Integrity

Was the original preserved? Is handling documented? Were alterations disclosed? Is the audit trail sufficient?

Reliability

How does the system work? What does it not establish? Was human review conducted? What limitations must be explained?

Disclosure

What was produced, when, in what format, with what metadata, and what additional records remain with a vendor or contractor?

Risk indicators

Common failure points

Original evidence overwrittenOnly an exported, compressed, edited, or redacted copy remains.

Metadata strippedEmail, conversion, download, or upload removes relevant metadata.

AI output treated as factA summary, transcript, alert, match, or classification is used without verification.

Vendor data overlookedThe visible result is retained, but logs, settings, searches, alternatives, or model information are not.

Processing undocumentedNo reliable record identifies who enhanced, cropped, converted, transcribed, or analysed the material.

Exculpatory output discardedNegative searches, exclusions, failed processes, or conflicting results are not preserved.

Reference library

Legal and operational issues

These summaries are issue-spotting resources. Agency-specific legal advice should be obtained from the appropriate prosecutor or counsel.