Forensic Focus

Matt Goeckel, Global Technical Marketing Leader at Cellebrite, joins the Forensic Focus Podcast to talk about Cellebrite Genesis, the company's new agentic AI platform for investigations. Matt tells Si and Desi how he went from Police Explorer to detective, set up his agency's mobile forensics lab, and then moved to Cellebrite. The three discuss why so many police examiners leave the job when promotion means returning to patrol. They also explain why rotating detectives through specialist roles doesn't work in a field that changes with every iOS release.
The conversation then turns to Genesis, which lets investigators "talk to the evidence" across phones, computers, documents, CCTV and more. Matt explains how every finding links back to its source so a human can verify it. He also covers consistent results, support for 110 languages, the platform running on Google Cloud with Gemini models, case sharing, PDF exports, and image, video and audio analysis. He walks through Deep Investigator, which can decode raw databases that haven't been parsed yet, along with file limits, processing times and token-based pricing. He also previews warrant scoping, a feature currently in beta that keeps the AI within the scope of a warrant. The episode closes on whether planted files could poison an AI-assisted analysis.
#Cellebrite #CellebriteGenesis #AIForensics #MobileForensics #LawEnforcement #DigitalForensics #DFIR
00:00 Take the Forensic Focus State of DFIR Survey
00:26 Back After the Break 01:33 Meet Matt Goeckel of Cellebrite
02:39 From Police Explorer to Examiner 06:49 Knowing When It's Time to Leave
09:31 No Career Path for Police Examiners
12:50 Why Examiner Rotations Don't Work
16:22 Introducing Cellebrite Genesis
19:49 Investigation vs Evidence: Human in the Loop
23:10 Consistent Results and 110 Languages
26:11 Gemini, GCP and Data Privacy
27:51 Case Sharing and PDF Exports
29:59 Why Genesis Won't Write Your Report
32:30 How Examiners Put Genesis to Work
33:57 Searching Images, Video and Audio
36:25 Finding Guns, Drugs and Contraband
37:58 iOS Changes and Deep Investigator
41:28 Teaching Genesis New Databases
45:03 1 TB Uploads, E01s and PSTs
46:10 Processing Time: It Depends
48:59 Token Pricing and Case Storage
51:38 Roadmap and Warrant Scoping
55:39 AI Poisoning and Guardrails
57:19 Wrap-Up and Where to Listen
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🎧 Video/Transcript: https://www.forensicfocus.com/podcast/agentic-ai-for-digital-investigations-matt-goeckel-introduces-cellebrite-genesis/
📝 Show Notes
Cellebrite Genesis – https://cellebrite.com/en/products/cellebrite-genesis/
Cellebrite Physical Analyzer – https://cellebrite.com/en/products/cellebrite-inseyets/physical-analyzer/
Cellebrite Reader – https://cellebrite.com/en/products/cellebrite-inseyets/reader/
National Computer Forensics Institute – https://www.ncfi.usss.gov
Google Cloud – https://cloud.google.com
Google Gemini – https://deepmind.google/models/gemini/
OpenClaw – https://openclaw.ai
Forensic Focus Podcast with Heather and Jared Barnhart – https://www.forensicfocus.com/podcast/the-idaho-murders-from-behavioural-clues-to-ais-role-in-digital-forensics/
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Phil Anderson, Senior Lecturer at Northumbria University, returns to the Forensic Focus Podcast to continue unpacking the mental health findings of the Forensic Focus International Well-Being Study. Host Paul Gullon-Scott walks through the clinical picture emerging from a survey of 179 digital forensic investigators, beginning with PTSD symptoms measured by the PCL-5: 47% reported hypervigilance at a moderate level or above, 45% difficulty sleeping, 44% difficulty concentrating, and 43% intrusive thoughts about their casework. Paul and Phil discuss the comorbidity behind those numbers — investigators rarely experience these symptoms in isolation — and how they follow people home, into short tempers, withdrawal from partners, and imagery appearing in dreams. They also examine the most clinically significant finding in the study: 20% of respondents reported active suicidal or self-harm ideation at a clinically meaningful level, roughly four times the estimated general workforce rate.
The conversation then turns to why so few investigators seek help, and what organisations are failing to provide. 49% of respondents receive no clinical or psychological supervision whatsoever, 54% have never taken part in a peer debrief, and 61% did not access support services in the past year — with lack of time, confidentiality concerns, and fear of career consequences cited as the main barriers. Paul and Phil discuss the PHQ-15 physical health data, why resilience is a depletable resource rather than a personal trait, and how coping strategies built around AI-generated CSAM are already breaking down as the material becomes more realistic.
#InvestigatorWellbeing #MentalHealth #PoliceWellbeing #CSAM #AIGeneratedCSAM #DigitalForensics #DFIR
00:00 Welcome and Study Setup
01:18 PTSD Symptoms Breakdown
05:27 Comorbidity and Home Impact
08:16 Case Volume and CSAM Reality
10:16 AI Trauma and Other Content
11:42 Depression and Suicidal Ideation
17:36 Stigma and Support Gaps
24:31 Mandatory Support and Priorities
25:59 Physical Health Effects Begin
26:37 Stress Hits The Body
29:04 No Respite In Casework
31:28 Resilience And Stigma
35:06 AI CSAM Coping Limits
37:20 Supervision Support Gaps
41:42 Peer Debriefs Missing
45:01 Barriers To Seeking Help
49:12 Reach Out And Resources
👉 Visit Forensic Focus: https://www.forensicfocus.com
🎧 Video/Transcript: https://www.forensicfocus.com/podcast/impact-coping-and-support-further-reflections-from-the-dfir-well-being-study/
📝 Show Notes
Forensic Focus International Well-Being Study 2026 Report - https://www.forensicfocus.com/well-being/forensic-focus-international-well-being-study-2026-report/
Forensic Focus Well-Being - https://www.forensicfocus.com/well-being/
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this episode, these organisations may be of help:
Samaritans – https://www.samaritans.org
Mind – https://www.mind.org.uk
Oscar Kilo – https://www.oscarkilo.org.uk/
Occupational health unit (OHU) – all police forces have access to an OHU providing a range of support services
Employee Assistance Scheme (EAS) – check with your employer to see what specific resources are available to you
GP – your GP can provide access to various local resources and make referrals to psychological support services
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Ben Dimmock, Police Well-Being Lead at Bedfordshire Police, joins the Forensic Focus Podcast to talk about psychological safety, trauma exposure, and the long-term emotional toll of working in policing and digital forensics. Ben shares his own experience of depression 12 years into his service, the stigma that made him hide it, and how opening up eventually led him to build and lead one of the largest full-time police well-being teams in the country. He and host Paul explore why well-being has to be treated as an operational necessity rather than a "pink and fluffy" add-on, and how a culture of stoicism has historically driven burnout, long-term sickness, and unresolved trauma.
The conversation digs into cumulative trauma — the gradual erosion that builds job after job until something small flicks the switch — and what genuinely psychologically safe leadership looks like versus performative box-ticking. Ben explains the day-to-day work of his team, from 80–100 welfare interventions a month and TRiM (Trauma Risk Management) assessments to peer support networks, and two services he believes are unique to Bedfordshire: dedicated welfare support for officers under investigation, and support for their families. Drawing on Paul's own background in online child abuse investigations and his current work as an NHS psychologist, the two discuss supervision, proactive check-ins, and why sometimes people just need to be listened to rather than "fixed."
#PoliceWellbeing #PsychologicalSafety #MentalHealth #TraumaInformedLeadership #Policing #DigitalForensics
00:00 Introducing Ben Dimmock
02:22 Depression and Breaking Stigma
04:46 Speaking Out
06:48 Why Well-Being Is Operational
10:12 Stoicism and Burnout Costs
12:00 Defining Psychological Safety
15:19 Proactive Support Culture
16:44 Building a Well-Being Team
20:57 Cumulative Trauma and Check-Ins
22:09 Supervision and TRiM Tools
26:45 Quick Check Ins
28:02 Cumulative Trauma Explained
30:13 Investigations And Welfare
33:45 Real Versus Performative
36:40 Inside The Well-Being Team
39:34 Supporting Families Too
41:47 Don't Suffer Alone
42:59 Listening Versus Fixing
44:03 Closing Thoughts
👉 Visit Forensic Focus: https://www.forensicfocus.com
🎧 Video/Transcript: https://www.forensicfocus.com/podcast/cumulative-trauma-in-digital-forensics-and-policing-with-ben-dimmock/
📝 Show Notes
Bedfordshire Police – https://www.beds.police.uk/
Oscar Kilo / National Police Well-being Service – https://www.oscarkilo.org.uk/
TRiM (Trauma Risk Management) – https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a79e5f4e5274a18ba50f9cf/0392-12attachment2of2.pdf
Ben Dimmock on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-dimmock-6325b4316/
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David Shipley, Instructor at Anglia Ruskin University, joins the Forensic Focus Podcast to talk about the human cost of online safeguarding work and his fight to close a gap in UK law. Drawing on 16 years investigating abusive imagery and online child sexual offending, David reflects on what the work actually involves — from the scale of the problem and the relentless build-up of warrants and digital forensic backlogs, to the difficult triage decisions investigators must make when no team can examine every device. He's candid about what "safeguarding" really means in practice, and about the mental toll the role takes on the people who do it.
The conversation then turns to David's final year in policing, when his work on the David Fuller case led him to discover that much of the sexual abuse of corpses he was cataloguing was not actually illegal. David explains how he took that discovery from a Ministry of Justice rejection through a lost bill and a change of government to eventual Royal Assent — a four-year campaign that introduced a new offence and raised the maximum sentence for sexual penetration of a corpse from two to seven years. He closes with frank advice for the next generation of investigators on protecting their own well-being and holding onto an investigative mindset.
#OnlineSafeguarding #InvestigatorWellbeing #LawReform #Policing #MentalHealth #DigitalForensics #DFIR
00:00 Introducing David Shipley
01:20 An Unusual Route Into Safeguarding
03:23 The Scale Of The Problem
06:55 Warrants, Workload And Backlogs
08:40 Triage: You Can't Examine Everything
11:52 What Safeguarding Really Means
14:46 The Hidden Mental Toll
18:21 How Welfare Support Evolved
22:27 Questionnaires And Team Culture
24:58 The Session That Changed My Mind
26:15 The David Fuller Case
29:27 Retiring, Then Returning To Finish The Job
31:51 Continuity And Limiting Exposure
33:50 Discovering The Gap In The Law
36:38 Shock, Duty And Dignity In Death
38:24 Launching The Campaign
41:11 The Ministry Of Justice Says No
44:05 Setbacks, A Lost Bill And A Second Chance
47:00 Royal Assent And Mixed Emotions
50:31 What The New Law Actually Changes
55:32 Advice For The Next Generation
58:08 Closing Reflections
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🎧 Video/Transcript: https://www.forensicfocus.com/podcast/david-shipley-investigating-the-darkest-corners-of-digital-evidence/
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Marcus Rowe, Business Director – Public Safety & Forensics at Leica Geosystems, joins the Forensic Focus Podcast to talk about 3D laser scanning, forensic digital twins, and the role of LiDAR in modern crime and collision investigation. Marcus shares his path from military and civilian policing — including a career in forensic collision investigation with Devon & Cornwall Police — into industry, and explains how Leica Geosystems (part of Hexagon) is empowering investigators with tools that capture entire scenes for analysis, courtroom presentation, and cold case review.
Marcus and Si also discuss the upcoming Forensics Europe Expo at Olympia on 1–2 July, which is set to bring together senior leaders, practitioners and solution providers from across the forensic community. To learn more and secure a free visitor pass, visit: https://www.forensicseuropeexpo.com.
The conversation also turns to Marcus's involvement in the world's largest crash test, featured in the Channel 4 documentary Pile Up. Working blind to the staged scenario, Marcus reconstructed the multi-vehicle collision from post-event scene capture and 3D modelling — at times surfacing detail that the 90 cameras filming the event had missed.
#LiDAR #3DScanning #CrashInvestigation #ForensicDigitalTwins #LeicaGeosystems #DigitalForensics #DFIR
⏱️ Timestamps
00:00 Welcome Marcus Rowe
02:44 From Policing to Leica Geosystems
05:35 Leica Conference Highlights
08:43 Forensic Digital Twins Talk
17:55 What to Expect at FEE
22:29 Students and Career Pathways
26:08 World's Largest Crash Test
31:07 LiDAR Explained Simply
34:36 Courtroom Storytelling in 3D
36:02 Real Cases and Proof Standards
38:40 TV Production
41:20 Micron Accuracy Use Cases
42:25 Footprints Without Contact
46:56 From Microns to Kilometers
50:35 VR for Juries and Trust
52:04 Holistic Capture Beats Bias
56:02 FEE Event Invitation
01:00:36 Wrap Up
👉 Visit Forensic Focus: https://www.forensicfocus.com
🎧 Video/Transcript: https://www.forensicfocus.com/podcast/leicas-marcus-rowe-on-investigating-the-worlds-largest-crash-test-plus-what-to-expect-at-fee-2026/
📝 Show Notes
Leica Geosystems – https://leica-geosystems.com
Hexagon – https://hexagon.com
Leica DISTO – https://shop.leica-geosystems.com/disto
Forensics Europe Expo (FEE) – https://www.forensicseuropeexpo.com
Channel 4 "Pile Up" documentary – https://www.channel4.com/programmes/pile-up-worlds-biggest-crash-test
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