According to Steven Keogh, a former homicide detective, author, and podcaster, investigating murder is both a science and an art. And Keogh knows all about it. He spent 30 years catching killers at Scotland Yard.

Scotland Yard Investigator, Steven Keogh

In his latest book, Murder Investigation Team: How Scotland Yard Really Catches Killers, Keogh takes his readers inside the mind of a murder investigator. And examines how to catch a murderer and bring them to justice. His first book “Murder Investigation Team: Jack the Ripper” is a comprehensive look at the iconic Whitechapel murders.

The author also has a YouTube channel. Murder Academy, videos feature in-depth examinations of true cases that Scotland Yard has solved and how it put the evidence together to get homicide convictions.

Keogh describes recent advances in technology, including DNA forensics, video and I-phone data can provide a lot evidence that leads to convicting the killer. It also makes policework a lot more complicated. 

Evidence in Phone data 

Phone data can give investigators information like text messages, and any phone calls made.

They also track people by connecting to cell towers.  When there is a murder the connection between a suspect and a victim can be found on their phones. And all this tracks back to the International Mobile Equipment Identity number of the phone used.

In the meantime, more programs are encrypted. WhatsApp is an example. Encryption makes it difficult to determine communications of people involved crimes. These programs rely on Wi-Fi, not cell phone towers. They can’t be traced and for all practical purposes they disappear.

Encryption makes it difficult for investigators to use the specific data as evidence. 

GPS Evidence 

All new cars come with GPS trackers which report a vehicle’s location in real-time and have the ability to transmit driving data to a user’s cell phone. They can also report factors such as average vehicle speed and when a car stops.

With a warrant the police can obtain this data to find out exactly where the suspect was to determine if they had an opportunity to commit murder.  

It is worth noting that it’s illegal to use GPS trackers to track people without their permission. And police can only obtain a warrant for this private data through a warrant.