Computer Forensics Crime Laboratory Opens Today in Kansas City

The Executive Board of the Heart of America Regional Computer Forensic Crime Laboratory (HARCFL) announced today the opening of a new computer forensics laboratory in Kansas City, with an official ribbon cutting ceremony at 11 o'clock this morning.

The laboratory, located at 4150 N. Mulberry Drive, Kansas City, Missouri, is the third facility to become operational, joining labs in San Diego and Dallas. Additional labs are planned for San Francisco and Chicago. The HARCFL is part of a national effort to expand law enforcement’s computer investigative capabilities. The laboratory gives the FBI and participating federal, state, county and municipal agencies a powerful tool in the fight against terrorism, cyber-crime, white-collar crime, violent crime, organized crime, illegal drug distribution and provides added protection for our national infrastructure throughout Kansas and the Western District of Missouri.

The HARCFL is a partnership between the FBI and other federal, state, county and municipal law enforcement agencies operating within the Kansas City area. The purpose of the HARCFL is to provide forensic examinations of computers and other digital media in support of federal, state or local criminal investigations and subsequent prosecutions.

The HARCFL will provide an added dimension to many criminal investigations at the federal, state and local level throughout the two state area. "It will be a powerful forensic resource for all of the law enforcement agencies throughout the region," said Kevin L. Stafford, Special Agent in Charge of the Kansas City FBI office.

Working on a daily basis at the facility will be 14 full-time computer forensic examiners. This includes four FBI employees, and one examiner from each of the following agencies: Johnson County, Kansas Sheriff's Office; Kansas Bureau of Investigation; Kansas City, Kansas Police Department; Kansas City, Missouri Police Department; Lawrence, Kansas Police Department; Lenexa, Kansas Police Department; Missouri Highway Patrol; Overland Park, Kansas Police Department; and the United States Attorney's Office, Western District of Missouri.
Computer forensic examiners use a variety of sophisticated techniques to recover data that resides in a digital medium, or to recover deleted, encrypted or damaged file information. The ability to address high technology investigations is an important tool for law enforcement, as an increasing amount of criminal activity is facilitated through electronic means.

The HARCFL examiners will initially receive 7 weeks of formalized training and extensive on-the-job training, after which they will be certified computer examiners with expertise in computer hardware, software, networking and data recovery.

As of today, the HARCFL will accept cases from any federal, state, county or municipal law enforcement agency within the state of Kansas and the western two-thirds of Missouri.

About the Executive Board

The Executive Board, who made today's announcement, is composed of individuals from the executive management staff from all of the HARCFL's participating agencies, including the United States Attorney for the District of Kansas, who has assigned a full-time prosecutor to handle cases generated from the HARCFL.