ADVANCED CRIMINAL LITIGATION
Topic 2 - Cell Site Evidence
An intelligence analyst?
• Home office employees
• They look at data and present data back to police forces to assist individual teams on
individual crimes or occasionally to assist mapping the way in which crime is
developing
• Analysists on the ‘Operational side’ – part of live operational investigations e.g.
murder inquiry. The senior officer will request an analysis to come do a specific role
for the team.
• Analysists on the ‘Strategic side’ – analysis crime trends
• Mainly involved in serious crime but often in volume (regular) crimes e.g. burglary.
MAIN AREAS OF ANALYSIS:
• Call data records (CDRs) – will look at your call data records to establish which cell
site masts your phone has been using.
• Automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) – accessing databases about the
whereabouts of your vehicle. Cameras across country record your details.
• Financial records- where used your card/location of transactions.
How do they fit in to police investigation?
• Senior Investigating Officer (SIO) in police investigative team determine they
have use for a analyst they will request it from the senior analyst (from a pool of
analysists serving that police force)
• Senior Analyst decides whether or not the request warrants an analyst into the
investigation. If approved, the analyst gets signed to the team and will report to the
SIO who will brief the analyst. They have a close working relationship- discuss what
work is requested but analyst might equally suggest what they could do.
• If both agree call data records of a suspect should be accessed the SIO will
appoint a SPOC= single point of contact for handling data. Now someone from the
police has to go and get the data that the analyst is going to analyse so if e.g. call
data records, have to go to the phone companies. Apply to require the phone
companies to yield this data- requests governed by Regulation of Investigatory
Powers Act. Normally police go to court and make a RIPA application for the call data
records of a suspect. When the phone companies comply with RIPA and yield up the
call data records, they will give it not to the SIO but to SPOC who will look after and
take all the data collected in. Only 6 network providers who cover the UK and will
handle all call data records for everybody making calls in the UK. SPOC then gives the
data to the analyst to assess and produce a report on it.
How cell site works:
• If you make phone call, your phone will by searching to find the nearest mast to
make a call (bars on phone go up and down). Phone might be comparing the signal
strength for more than one cell mast. If there is mast that can serve the call, and you
make a call, that is the connection that will be made.
• During the course of the call, a better mast may become available and your phone
will automatically switch to this one- call data records will only show the mast you
Topic 2 - Cell Site Evidence
An intelligence analyst?
• Home office employees
• They look at data and present data back to police forces to assist individual teams on
individual crimes or occasionally to assist mapping the way in which crime is
developing
• Analysists on the ‘Operational side’ – part of live operational investigations e.g.
murder inquiry. The senior officer will request an analysis to come do a specific role
for the team.
• Analysists on the ‘Strategic side’ – analysis crime trends
• Mainly involved in serious crime but often in volume (regular) crimes e.g. burglary.
MAIN AREAS OF ANALYSIS:
• Call data records (CDRs) – will look at your call data records to establish which cell
site masts your phone has been using.
• Automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) – accessing databases about the
whereabouts of your vehicle. Cameras across country record your details.
• Financial records- where used your card/location of transactions.
How do they fit in to police investigation?
• Senior Investigating Officer (SIO) in police investigative team determine they
have use for a analyst they will request it from the senior analyst (from a pool of
analysists serving that police force)
• Senior Analyst decides whether or not the request warrants an analyst into the
investigation. If approved, the analyst gets signed to the team and will report to the
SIO who will brief the analyst. They have a close working relationship- discuss what
work is requested but analyst might equally suggest what they could do.
• If both agree call data records of a suspect should be accessed the SIO will
appoint a SPOC= single point of contact for handling data. Now someone from the
police has to go and get the data that the analyst is going to analyse so if e.g. call
data records, have to go to the phone companies. Apply to require the phone
companies to yield this data- requests governed by Regulation of Investigatory
Powers Act. Normally police go to court and make a RIPA application for the call data
records of a suspect. When the phone companies comply with RIPA and yield up the
call data records, they will give it not to the SIO but to SPOC who will look after and
take all the data collected in. Only 6 network providers who cover the UK and will
handle all call data records for everybody making calls in the UK. SPOC then gives the
data to the analyst to assess and produce a report on it.
How cell site works:
• If you make phone call, your phone will by searching to find the nearest mast to
make a call (bars on phone go up and down). Phone might be comparing the signal
strength for more than one cell mast. If there is mast that can serve the call, and you
make a call, that is the connection that will be made.
• During the course of the call, a better mast may become available and your phone
will automatically switch to this one- call data records will only show the mast you
