Charger tool aids evidence recovery

Growing use of mobile phones in crime presents new challenges for police forces to recover critical evidence in a fast, safe and convenient way.

Hertfordshire-based company TeleAdapt are distributing a unique product that can charge the majority of makes of mobile phones in as little as ten minutes depending on the state of the battery.

The innovative AnyFill Rapid Battery Charger is a portable, light-weight device that can be used as a valuable support tool in mobile phone forensic examinations by allowing the crime lab to quickly re-charge a mobile phone needed as evidence in any investigation.

It is already being used by a number of forces who are finding it has transformed the way they gather mobile phone evidence. These include Grampian, Hertfordshire, Norfolk, Nottinghamshire, Greater Manchester Police, Derbyshire Constabulary, the FSS and the National Mobile Phone Crime Unit.

Robert Holliday, an engineer with Norfolk Police Tactical Support Unit, has the job of using the Anyfill charger to charge up phones that are used for evidential purposes.

He explained: “Mobile phones are now an everyday part of crime scenes in our force, particularly in relation to road traffic incidents.

“My job has been made so much easier since we started using the charger simply because I can now charge the phones in half the time it took me before. We used to spend valuable time hunting around for specific chargers, sometimes having to pay up to £15 a time for them, so in the long run we’ll hopefully save money as well.

“I also like the fact the AnyFill charger is easy to use from an operational point of view, takes up very little space and is also aesthetically pleasing.”

Gordon Brown, Managing Director of TeleAdapt is delighted with the response from forces to his product.

He said: “The feedback we are getting is that the AnyFill charger is proving invaluable in situations where evidence needs to be recovered quickly. Anecdotal evidence has shown that mobile phones are seized at crime scenes and often put into evidence bags and stored for quite a while before evidence is retrieved from them.

“During this time the battery has often gone flat leaving the investigator with the arduous task of hunting around for a charger that is compatible with the phone – wasting valuable time that could be spent on other policing tasks.”

Mr Brown continued: “Another valuable use of the AnyFill charger is to act as a quick way of allowing officers in police stations to re-charge their phones in situations where they are on the run and need to charge a phone quickly or when they might not have access to a standard charger.”

For more information contact John McAndrew on 01923 810200 or john.mcandrew@ teleadapt.com