Gary Brookes

Background

About Gary Brookes

As a Detective, I became a full time member of Cheshire's eForensics – Hi-Tech Crime Unit in 2002, where I regularly investigated computers and other digital media, involving the gathering and dissemination of information, resulting in the production of evidential reports, primarily used in criminal prosecutions in Crown Court. Many of the investigations I have been involved with are often complex and sensitive in nature involving murder, kidnaps, rapes, armed robberies, drugs, paedophilia, as well as thefts and large scale commercial frauds. In 2010 I set up the units specialised data recovery section, involving advanced techniques to recover data from damaged or destroyed hard drives, increasing the ability to examine data in cases that would otherwise be irretrievable using standard techniques. In 2014, as a senior member of the unit, I was given the opportunity set up of our Paedophile and Cybercrime Investigation Unit, created to specifically tackle the Unit's backlog of work by collaborating with the Paedophile Unit and tasked with streamlining investigative processes and techniques, which when developed and introduced, ultimately become responsible to reducing the backlogs to allow us to work on real-time investigations, all within a 9 month period from inception. Our working model was recognised in 2015 within Cheshire, winning our internal ACE award and at the same time Nationally where our team were runners up in the National Detectives Award. Our processes were later essentially adopted by many UK Police Forces across the Country, as the best working model for digital forensic investigations. Over the years, as an Expert Witness, I have successfully given evidence and had my evidence tested to the highest standards in high profile and complex cases heard in Crown Court's, The Old Bailey and The Royal Courts or Justice. I have since retired from Cheshire Constabulary after 30 years Police service, with over 18 years experience within the Digital Forensics arena and have continued in this area as a Senior Security Analyst role within Capgemini where currently assist in all areas of data recovery and DFIR as Forensic Lead within their Cyber Security team.