The Lincoln Police Department is investing more resources into technology as digital evidence and cryptocurrency-related crimes become a growing part of modern policing. Police Chief Michon Morrow tells KLIN News the department has made organizational changes and is dedicating additional personnel to address increasingly complex technology-related investigations.
“It’s becoming pretty niche in some of the work that we have to do,” Morrow says. “We had to create a specific investigative position for cryptocurrency because that’s such a unique technology piece and the resources that have to be in place.”
Morrow said the rapid growth of cryptocurrency scams prompted the department to assign an investigator solely to those cases. “I sat with him for about 30 minutes,” Morrow says. “One, I was super impressed, and two, when I walked away, I’m not sure I understood everything that he was telling me about all of this back-end cryptocurrency world.”
Morrow also told KLIN News technology is creating new demands in criminal investigations because of the explosion of video evidence from cell phones, home security cameras, and businesses. “Everybody has cell phones now. Everybody, for the most part, has some sort of home security system,” Morrow says.
“The vast amount of video evidence that we’re taking in and have to pour through is so beneficial for our investigations and case clearance, but that’s also work and technical work.” To help manage that workload, LPD is adding another video analyst to its forensic identification unit.
Morrow says while technology is helping solve more crimes, it also requires specialized employees with advanced technical skills to keep up with the ever-changing digital landscape.