The digital age has transformed cold case investigations, where the invisible trails of personal data can help in solving crimes committed years ago. Digital footprints refer to the information about a particular person that exists on the internet as a result of their online activity. While technology has made life more convenient, it has also created permanent records that investigators can access years later. Digital forensics helps in delivering delayed justice to victims and their families.
The Evolution of Digital Evidence in Criminal Investigations
Digital forensics no longer remains in its initial computer-based roots. It has now expanded to cover a wide range of modern technologies and gadgets, such as mobile devices, social media, cloud storage and Internet of Things (IoT) devices. This digital transformation has fundamentally changed cold case reviews, with digitisation and AI-driven text analytics streamlining resource-intensive case processing.
Experts estimated clearance rates for violent crime convictions during the early 1980s to be around 35-40%. Currently, it is estimated to be around 54% in 2023. This has created an accumulation of unsolved murder cases that now number over 270,000 in India alone. Advances in forensic testing, the development of new information, and agency re-examination efforts have led to the reopening of dormant investigations. Digital evidence now plays a role in roughly 90% of criminal cases, making it indispensable for modern law enforcement.
Types of Digital Footprints in Cold Case Investigations
Investigators rely on numerous types of digital evidence to crack cold cases. Location information, such as GPS tracking, Google location history, cell tower records, and Wi-Fi connection logs, can help identify a suspect or a victim at a specific location and time. For example, Google location data helped solve the 2019 Kimberly Bell murder case after four years of stagnation.
Communication records such as call logs, text messages, MMS, and app-based messages establish relationships and timelines; forensic analysis of such records advanced India’s Sheena Bora murder investigation. Social media evidence, including posts, photographs, comments, and metadata, has contributed to establishing alibis and connections in numerous cases, notably influencing 190 convictions in gang-related indictments in the United States between 2011 and 2014.
Search history and browser data reveal incriminating queries indicating knowledge or intent, while metadata embedded in digital images and documents helps establish authenticity and timelines. Device-specific evidence from apps, system files, and configuration logs also provides critical investigative leads.
Tools and Technologies for Facilitating Digital Footprint Analysis
Specific forensic tools enable investigators to isolate and examine digital evidence with the greatest accuracy and precision. Software such as Cellebrite, Oxygen Forensic Detective, Magnet AXIOM, and XRY enable specialists to recover overwritten files, rebuild timelines, and conduct detailed analysis of devices. Improved data recovery methods have made information once impossible to retrieve available for renewed investigation.
Artificial intelligence and machine learning are increasingly important for handling vast amounts of data, identifying patterns, and detecting anomalies that might otherwise go unnoticed by human analysts. It is important to note that India has the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems (CCTNS), which enhances cross-jurisdictional data linking and helps reveal patterns of serial crime. In the same manner, the National Intelligence grid (NATGRID) combines various government and commercial databases to enable authorised agencies to quickly correlate travel, financial, telecom and crime records and generate leads in cold and complex cases.
Similarly, the Sahayog Portal is an inter-departmental coordination and information exchange system between law enforcement and partner institutions that consolidates requests, responses, and analytical contributions related to digital and cyber elements. The interlinking of these portals aids investigators in searching for records, matching and comparing them, and identifying suspects and common modus operandi in cold cases. Text analytics tools automate searches, identify inter-case linkages, and support objective, data-driven investigations.
Real-World Case Studies
Digital footprints have significantly contributed to solving prominent cold cases. Cold case investigator Paul Holes and forensic genetic genealogist Barbara Rae-Venter identified the Golden State Killer as Joseph James DeAngelo Jr and arrested him decades after his crimes through forensic genealogy combined with DNA databases.
The Kimberly Bell murder case (2019) benefited from GPS location data and internet search histories to secure breakthroughs. In India, the Aarushi Talwar murder case (2008) saw mobile device forensics track SMS and phone logs. Similarly, the Sheena Bora case (2015) leveraged forensic analysis of call data records and text messages to expose conspiracies.
Challenges and Limitations
Digital evidence has significant challenges despite its potential. Using encryption and passcodes can often exclude timely access to vital information. Technological changes are occurring at an extremely rapid pace, outpacing legal and procedural frameworks. This leads to loopholes and mismatches in the admissibility of evidence and investigation guidelines. Issues of implicit bias in AI-assisted procedures, potential errors, and misuse remain very prominent.
Overwrites, data degradation, and data loss pose major challenges to the long-term preservation of evidence. Privacy rights require a delicate balance between the investigative requirements and individual civil rights. Case outcomes are also complicated by the risks of misinterpretation, software flaws, and human errors. Many agencies lack sufficient resources and expertise to manage intensive digital forensic analysis effectively.
The Role of Digitisation and AI in Case Review
Digitising paper case files enhances secure data storage, easy access, and information sharing among investigative teams. AI-powered text analytics automates complex searches, identifies cross-case connections, and promotes more objective case assessments. Research demonstrates that these technologies streamline time-consuming cold-case reviews, enabling investigators to focus on active inquiries rather than administrative tasks. AI also facilitates pattern recognition in serial offences, connecting seemingly unrelated incidents.
Ethical Considerations and Public Engagement
Social media sites such as Websleuths and Reddit have promoted citizen investigations and crowdsourced investigations that have become increasingly influential. Some of these efforts have produced critical leads and resulted in arrests, especially through crime-oriented podcasts. A leading example of the same would be the true crime podcast “Serial”, which played an important role in re-examining the case of Adnan Syed, who had been convicted in 1999 in Maryland, USA.
His conviction was overturned, and he was released after 23 years of wrongful conviction. Also, in the disappearance case of Kristin Smart from California, USA, it remained unsolved for decades until the podcast “Your Own Backyard” brought attention to the same. Eventually, an arrest was made in the case after new witnesses came forward following the podcast. Nevertheless, they can also lead to risks of invasion of privacy, false accusations, and interference with official investigations. Ethical questions regarding data consent, protection, and the permanence of digital footprints necessitate transparent guidelines and robust legal frameworks governing the use of forensic technology.
Conclusion
Digital footprints have essentially transformed cold case investigations by complementing physical evidence with comprehensive digital narratives. Each online action, search query, location check, and other digital interaction leaves permanent traces that can be recovered even after several years. This means perpetrators find it increasingly difficult to evade justice forever. Digital footprints help investigators deliver delayed but achievable justice for victims and families. However, to achieve a successful resolution of cold cases, there is a need to balance technological advancements with stringent legal, ethical and privacy concerns.
