September 2017
Elk County recently received a grant in the amount of $15,990.00 through the Innovative Policing Grant Program administered by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD). The funds received by the county were used to acquire Cellebrite technology by Elk County Detective Gregg McManus. Shawn T. McMahon, Elk County District Attorney, applied for the grant. Cellebrite is an industry leader in providing law enforcement with the necessary resources to gather digital evidence in criminal investigations.
McMahon indicated that Cellebrite technology is a hardware component with the necessary software that allows law enforcement to extract, also known as “dumping”, data from smart phones, cell phones and other electronic devices. McMahon acknowledged that electronic devices have become valuable items of physical evidence to law enforcement in the criminal investigation process as well as the prosecution of individuals engaged in criminal activity, specifically, including but not limited to, individuals engaged in the acquisition and sale of controlled substances. The Cellebrite technology acquired by the Elk County Detective includes the necessary hardware, software, three years of software updates as well as the necessary training for Detective McManus to become proficient in using the Cellebrite technology.
District Attorney McMahon acknowledged the importance of having Cellebrite technology available locally as an investigative resource for all law enforcement agencies in Elk County as well as expediting the process of “dumping” electronic devices. Presently, local law enforcement agencies rely upon the Pennsylvania State Police, Office of the Pennsylvania Attorney General or the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to “dump” electronic devices at facilities outside of Elk County requiring law enforcement to submit electronic devices as evidence by either mail or driving to the facility where the electronic device will be processed. McMahon foresees that the availability of Cellebrite technology locally shall dramatically improve the turn-around time for processing electronic devices seized in Elk County during criminal investigations. McMahon indicated, “often times in criminal investigations time is of the essence and critical, consequently, the availability of Cellebrite technology locally is an invaluable and necessary investigative tool to law enforcement in today’s age of criminal investigations making law enforcement more effective at doing their job.”
District Attorney McMahon acknowledged the initiative and leadership of Elk County Detective Gregg McManus in proposing this innovative policing project for Elk County which shall benefit and be a valuable resource to all law enforcement agencies throughout Elk County. In addition, McMahon acknowledged the critical and necessary support that the Elk County Criminal Justice Advisory Board (CJAB) provided for the grant application submitted by the Office of the Elk County District Attorney to PCCD. In 2017 the PCCD initiated an innovative policing grant program focused on law enforcement implementing innovative policing projects to improve the service law enforcement provides to the public as well as the collaboration between law enforcement agencies.
