Sunday, January 29, 2012 3:46 am

Constable Jim Gibbs recently completed a program in Computer Data Recovery and Acquisition offered by the National While Collar Crime Center, Computer Crime Section which is located in West Virginia. Gibbs just recently completed another 24 hour computer forensic course offered by MTSU and taught by a Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) forensic specialist.

The recently completed program provided 28 hours of intense instruction and hands on exercises recovering data from computers, jump drives, SD cards and external hard drives. The course was certified for P.O.S.T continuing education certification.

In addition to Constable Gibbs, others attending were investigators from the Tennessee Attorney General's Office, The Tennessee Highway Patrol, Knox and Wilson County Sheriff's Department. A prosecutor from the Suffolk County New York District Attorney's Office was among the students and the student traveling the furthest distance was a member of the Seattle Washington Police Department.

The program was sponsored by the Tennessee Highway Patrol and taught at the THP academy in Nashville. Gibbs said the instruction was fast paced and challenging. The course was taught by two very knowledgeable instructors who were able to respond to student questions. Not only was the education opportunity great, the cost of the program was free to law enforcement officers paid for through grant monies. In addition to the specialized education, the camaraderie between law enforcement officers was superb and the networking with computer crime fighters from across Tennessee and the United States was a rare opportunity.