Collecting evidence faster than an alibi
Brief
Authored by Karl Stonebarger
Originally published in the September 2026 issue of Magnet Unlocked. Want to be the first to see new content? Sign up for our monthly newsletter, Magnet Unlocked.
When hearing discussion around speed, it’s easy to assume it’s about efficiency: shorter processing times, faster software, smaller backlogs . Those things matter, but they’re not what I think about.
What I think about is a specific window that exists in nearly every active investigation. It’s the time between when investigators gain access to digital evidence and when a suspect has had enough time to build a story around it.
Over more than a decade working in digital forensics and ICAC investigations , I came to see that window as one of the most important, least-discussed realities of the job. Evidence doesn’t lose value because it takes longer to process.