An exploration of the investigative value of cell phone record analysis in the investigation of serious and violent crimes in the Winelands District, Western Cape Province

Abstract

In modern times, cell phones have influenced people’s everyday lives and changed the ways they interact with each other and one another. The continuous development and advancement of cell phone technology has also sophisticated the way in which cell phones are used. For many people, cell phones have replaced many functions previously performed on laptops and computers, such as storing important information, conversations, keeping of schedules; as well as saving and transferring files, and internet surfing. Accordingly, the usage of cell phones has become an important part of people’s everyday life, and has changed people’s ways of interacting with one another. However, the popularity of mobile devices has been overshadowed by their frequent usage in digital crimes, which also necessitated the application of digital forensics in crime investigation. It could then be postulated that cell phones have played a significant part in the commission of many crimes and the subsequent investigation thereof. In that regard, cell phone investigation could be viewed as the future of criminal investigations and analysis. This research, therefore, explores the investigative value of cell phone record analysis in the investigation of serious and violent crimes in the Winelands District, Western Cape Province.