In a long law enforcement career that included stints with multiple agencies and work in computer forensics, Jim Reitner became intimately aware of the large caseloads of large-department investigators and the resource limitations of smaller departments. Coupled with the knowledge that perpetrators often utilize the latest technology to commit and conceal crimes, Reitner felt it imperative to aid law enforcement officials keep up with the latest gadgets and combat them.
Reitners company–Warrington, Bucks County-based BKForensics–has introduced its RF Tent, an unassuming piece of equipment not unlike a backyard camping apparatus that is being touted as an effective way for law enforcement to protect critical pieces of information stored on cell phones.
The nylon tent is easy to use–it sets up in under 30 seconds on-site or at the station–and helps eliminate the possibility that a suspect in a crime could remotely operate a cell phone, explosive device or other remote-controlled object during an investigation. Cell phones, for example, would lose their connection to their provider networks, meaning their data could not be altered by the phones owner from a different location.
Sometimes the best solutions dont require a lot of technology, says Reitner, whose company also provides software that enables examiners to retrieve deleted data from cell phones, as well as training courses that instruct law enforcement officers in cell phone data recovery and cell phone seizure practices.
The capabilities of devices are consumer-driven, and phones have remote-kill switches now to reduce identity theft. On the other side, a suspect in custody can send a kill signal and law enforcement would lose its evidence. We needed a way to block the signals, but there were obstacles.
Similar products exist, but the RF Tent is portable (it breaks down into a compact, 25-pound package), has a walk-in entrance and room for multiple examiners, and comes with a workbench and other investigation tools.
Reitner is starting to pitch law enforcement agencies around the world–he recently returned from presenting the tent to the Dubai Police Force–and is also hoping to market the tent to bomb squads and the military.
Short of reading lips, theres no way of getting in, he says of the tent.
Source: Jim Reitner, BKForensics
Writer: Joe Petrucci