DEMS Proxy Interoperability for Public Safety Evidence
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Solution Overview
Problem
Digital evidence management systems (DEMS) in public safety agencies have limited interoperability, making it difficult for agents to access and share digital content across agencies due to policy, security, and technology limitations, leading to inefficient manual setup and processing of special access terminals and software, and challenges in integrating chain-of-custody information and user roles for electronic collaboration.
Innovation Solution
A DEMS proxy computing device facilitates interoperability by receiving search strings, providing corresponding search information to multiple DEMS devices, and transmitting digital evidence records and chain-of-custody information, enabling seamless access and collaboration across independent systems.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If manual setup of special access terminals and software is implemented to enable cross-agency access to DEMS, then interoperability between agencies is improved, but processing time and hardware resources are wasted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal standardized interface that enables multiple DEMS systems from different agencies to interoperate through a common protocol. This interface allows agents from any agency to access digital evidence across agency boundaries without requiring manual setup of special access terminals, as the standardized interface handles authentication, data exchange, and chain-of-custody tracking uniformly across all participating agencies.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a standardized interface as an intermediary layer between different DEMS systems. This intermediary translates and mediates communications between agencies with different native systems, enabling interoperability without requiring direct integration between each pair of agencies. The interface acts as a broker that manages access requests, validates permissions, and facilitates evidence sharing while maintaining each agency's security policies.
2Reliability
If separate DEMS systems are maintained by each agency for security reasons, then security and policy control are improved, but accessibility of digital content outside the agency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the interoperability function into distinct modular components within the standardized interface: authentication modules that verify agent credentials, authorization modules that check cross-agency access permissions, data translation modules that adapt between different DEMS formats, and chain-of-custody modules that track evidence movement. This segmentation allows each security function to operate independently while collectively enabling seamless cross-agency access.
Solution Approach 2:
The standardized interface serves as an intermediary that preserves each agency's security boundaries while facilitating access. It receives requests from agents, validates them against the requesting agent's agency policies, obtains necessary permissions from the target agency, and then facilitates the evidence transfer. This mediator approach maintains security control at each agency while enabling operational accessibility.
3Measurement precision
If chain-of-custody information and user roles are integrated into the interoperability system, then assessment of digital evidence trustworthiness is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges chain-of-custody tracking and user role management into the core standardized interface rather than treating them as separate add-on systems. The interface automatically captures authentication data, user roles, and custody transfer information as part of the standard evidence exchange protocol. This merging eliminates the need for separate complex tracking systems while ensuring that trustworthiness metadata is consistently captured and transmitted with every evidence transfer.
Data Source
AI summary
A device, system and method for interoperability between digital evidence management systems (DEMS) is provided. A DEMS proxy computing device received, from a requesting device, a search string requesting digital evidence. The proxy provides, to a plurality of separate DEMS devices maintained by separate public safety agencies: corresponding search strings; and identification information identifying one or more of: a public safety role of a user of the requesting device, and a public safety agency membership of the user. The proxy receives, from at least a particular DEMS device, of the plurality of separate DEMS devices, a digital evidence record based on the search string, the digital evidence record describing a piece of digital evidence managed by the particular DEMS device, and including chain-of-custody information. The proxy provides, to the requesting device, the digital evidence record and the chain-of-custody information.