Clanton Police Department is better equipped to handle cyber crime after two officers attended a two-week training course.

Capt. David Clackley and Officer Wade Johnson on July 18 completed the course, which was hosted free of charge by Prattville Police Department and taught by representatives from the National White Collar Crime Center.

During the training, the officers received software to use for investigations and the skills required to use it.

The training covered basic data recovery and acquisition, basic cell phone investigations and intermediate data recovery and analysis.

Johnson and Clackley are now capable of performing forensic examinations on computers and other electronic media, collect usable evidence for criminal prosecution and to testify in court.

“In recent years, the computer has become a valuable source of information in all types of criminal cases,” Clackley said in a news release. “Computers are used as a tool in the execution of crimes like identity theft and other online crimes but are also used to research, plan and document many other types of criminal activity.

“This type of information can prove useful in the prosecution of a variety of cases, and it is very important that it is not overlooked.”

Before the officers received the training, CPD had to outsource these types of examinations to other state and federal agencies, such as the Alabama Bureau of Investigation or the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and it could take months to get back findings, thus slowing the progress of the case.

“I believe that in our current society of social media, smart phones and electronic devices, this is a valuable resource that we cannot function without,” Clackley said. “The amount of data that would fit on the average smart phone (2GB) is equal to about 2,000 books of printed information. This can be a valuable source of evidence in cases.”