Over the past few decades, technology has become an essential tool permeating all areas of criminal justice, including law enforcement, courts, probation, and parole. Technology enables criminal justice professionals to increase the accuracy of criminal trials, reduce the traditional prison population, as well as increase the safety of communities. The Digital Investigations Proficiency Certificate exposes students to relevant technologies that will enable them to succeed in entry-level criminal justice positions. The Digital InvestigationsCertificate can be completed by taking major courses and selecting electives that exist in the Criminal Justice program.
The Digital Investigations Proficiency Certificate provides students the opportunity to gain knowledge and develop skills in digital investigation, including fundamentals of crime scene investigation, chain of custody, and constitutional concerns relating to admissibility of evidence at trial. Students learn how to recover digital evidence in a legally defensible manner in criminal investigations. The hands-on work completed in these classes engages students and exposes them to criminal justice as practiced in the twenty-first century. Throughout these classes, students work with faculty experienced in the field and participate in hands-on problem solving activities related to real-life scenarios.