The use of COVID-19 contact tracing app data as evidence of a crime

Marie-Helen Maras; Michelle D Miranda; Adam Scott Wandt

doi:10.1016/j.scijus.2022.12.008

The use of COVID-19 contact tracing app data as evidence of a crime

Sci Justice. 2023 Mar;63(2):158-163. doi: 10.1016/j.scijus.2022.12.008. Epub 2023 Jan 2.

Authors

Marie-Helen Maras¹, Michelle D Miranda², Adam Scott Wandt³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Security, Fire and Emergency Management, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York, 524 W. 59th Street, Haaren Hall, Room 43311, New York, NY 10019, USA. Electronic address: mmaras@jjay.cuny.edu.
² Department of Criminal Justice, Center for Criminal Justice, State University of New York, Farmingdale, NY, USA.
³ Department of Public Management, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York, NY, USA.

Abstract

This commentary draws attention to the introduction of data collected by COVID-19 tracing apps as evidence in criminal proceedings and the novel considerations this evidence presents for criminal justice agents and digital forensics professionals.

Keywords: COVID-19; Contact tracing app; Digital forensics; Evidence; Function creep.

MeSH terms

COVID-19*
Contact Tracing
Crime
Criminals*
Humans
Mobile Applications*