(Woodland, CA) – July 30, 2024 – District Attorney Jeff Reisig announced that earlier this year the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office High-Tech Crimes Unit – Digital Forensics Lab (DFL) received accreditation from the ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB). Forensic accreditation provides confidence in the testing, inspections, and calibrations conducted by governmental and private agencies for use in criminal and civil proceedings. Accreditation from ANAB establishes that the DFL meets international standards and best practices for conducting digital forensic examinations.
The ANAB assessment team spent three days reviewing the DFL’s quality assurance policies and procedures, and quality control practices that include, proficiency testing, peer reviews, and both internal and external audits that verify the competency of the staff using validated methods that produce reliable and consistent forensic results. There are more than 200 accreditation standards that must be met to achieve accreditation. The DFL met all assessed standards with no findings of nonconformance. This is an exceptional achievement for a laboratory undergoing its first assessment. The Yolo County District Attorney’s Office is only the fifth DA’s office in the country and second in California to have an accredited digital forensics lab.
Recognizing the need for digital forensics in investigating high-tech crimes, District Attorney Jeff Reisig established the High-Tech Crimes Unit in 2010 with the help of Chief Investigator, Pete Martin, as he neared retirement. The unit began with three part-time retired annuitants: Pete Martin, Brent Buehring, who had worked as a forensic investigator with the Sacramento Valley High-Tech Crimes Unit, and Dorothy Pearson, a retired Davis Police Lieutenant. In 2015, John Sadlowski joined the High-Tech Crimes Unit as the first full time forensic investigator. He has built the unit up to now achieving internationally recognized accreditation. The unit is currently staffed by, Sadlowski, two digital forensic analysts, Michael Wise and Christopher Kumata, and one support specialist, Pat Snyder.
The unit is a member of the Sacramento Valley High-Tech Crimes Taskforce and Internet Crimes Against Children. In partnership with the local law enforcement agencies, the High-Tech Crimes Unit is responsible for most of the digital forensic analyses for all law enforcement agencies in Yolo County, aiding in the investigation and prosecution of felony criminal cases in the county. They, along with allied agency partnerships, conduct the digital forensics for items searched as part of the DA’s annual sex offender sweep, Operation Vigilance. They are also called upon to testify in court as experts in the field of digital forensics.
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