As outlined in this month’s President’s Message, the IACP is actively addressing the challenge faced by the law enforcement community regarding their ability to access electronic evidence and the threat this issue poses to public safety. The issue of “Going Dark”—law enforcement’s reduced ability to lawfully access and examine digital evidence at rest and evidence in motion due to technical and non-technical barriers—is increasingly placing public safety at risk.

In response to this growing problem, earlier this year, the IACP convened a law enforcement summit on Going Dark to help identify legal, technical, and operational concerns associated with the issues surrounding the collection and use of data related to communications and mobile devices. A broad array of law enforcement leaders, investigators, and subject matter experts participated in the summit, and as a result, the IACP recently released a report.