MOULTRIE, Ga. — Over the past 20 years, the ways Americans do business, communicate with friends and family, and store videos and photos has changed because of digital technology.  It is rare to see individuals without a cell phone or to walk in a coffee shop and not see someone studying or doing business through computer devices.  

The change in communication has forced police and sheriff’s departments across the country to adapt.  The Moultrie Police Department and the Colquitt County Sheriff’s Office now have a Digital Forensics Lab that is helping to obtain digital evidence from computers, laptops, cell phones, tablets, hard drives, and many other electronic devices.

“This day and age, people’s lives revolve around their devices,” Moultrie Police Chief Sean Ladson said. “Many times, critical evidence and information is contained in these devices, and to build a case efficiently, we must be able to extract this information from multiple devices.”

“Because of the great relationship between the Moultrie Police Department, Colquitt County Sheriff’s Office and the Secret Service, Moultrie now has a state of the art Digital Forensics Lab,” Ladson said.  

The Secret Service provided the lab and training. According to Ladson, Investigator Sgt. Shavarye’ Anderson, who is the digital forensic examiner, received extensive training to run the lab.  

“Technology is the future,” Anderson said. “It puts us ahead of the curve as far as investigations.”  

It’s unusual for a department the size of Moultrie’s to have such a lab. The MPD will make its services available to other law enforcement agencies.

Clint Bush, resident agent in charge of the United States Secret Service Unit located in Albany, said the lab will benefit the residents of Moultrie, Colquitt County, and all of Southwest Georgia. Bush is in charge of 60 counties in Georgia, including Colquitt.  

“We want to build on our strong relationship with the police and sheriff’s office,” Bush said.