In the past, a physical piece of evidence was located in a brick-and-mortar evidence room. Officers would procure a written evidence ticket and take it to an evidence officer to retrieve what they needed. Today, in the digital age, where and how evidence is collected, stored, and retrieved is different.

Up to this point the change had been gradual, but today many see a growth spurt in agencies that know what they need—new and better digital evidence management systems that will grow with them over time—but they are unsure about which systems to invest in, and when.