There Is No “Find Evidence” Button In Digital Forensics
Damian R, Co Founder (IPA)
6 May 2026
This is a blanket. It’s not a particularly unusual blanket. As far as blankets go there’s nothing special about it. The blanket could have been purchased from any store. It was likely cheap.
Blankets provide warmth, they provide comfort and security, and when you’re a little kid, they can even provide protection from the boogeyman… if only. But not all blankets are the same. This blanket is different. This particular blanket (see pic) holds more importance than other blankets. In fact, you could go to the shop right now and buy the most expensive, fancy, highest thread count blanket in the world; but that blanket wouldn’t be as important as this one.
You see, this blanket was used to connect an offender to an unspeakable crime. This blanket was used to identify the abuse of a child.
In victim identification and the analysis of child abuse material, analysts look for anything that can be used to narrow in on a location or identify an offender or a victim. Faded paint adorning the walls, the position of a power socket, a unique looking wardrobe, stickers on a child’s bed head, a view from a window. The most minute detail can be the difference between a child enduring years of abuse or having a law enforcement team at the door.
Analysts have one of the hardest jobs on earth, it’s a sacrifice they make. And although there’s so many new AI tools, software and technology to help streamline the process and lessen the exposure an analyst has to this unspeakable crime, at the end of the day, each file must be analyzed and every attempt made to identify that child.
There’s no ‘find evidence button’. Just hard work and determination. Every child deserves safety. And IPA isn’t going to stop looking for them.