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Computer Sex Crimes – Can the Police Search my laptop?

In computer sex crimes, this issue is often discussed between Tampa Criminal Defense Attorneys and their clients concerning this ever changing area of law.  Unfortunately, with the proliferation of laptops and tablets, law enforcement quickly adopted and changed their strategies to seize and search the same. These issues often arise in cases involving the computer as a necessity to commit the alleged crime. The seizure of computers are often associated with charges such as the possession of child pornography, any case involving counterfeiting, identity theft cases, including but not limited to fraudulent tax return cases. As I’m sure you’re aware, Tampa is the tax fraud capital of the world, so law enforcement agencies in the area have ample experience seizing and copying hard drives of computers that are seized.

When law enforcement seizes a laptop, they immediately do what is called a “mirror” of the hard drive. In short, this means they literally make a hard copy of the hard drive. This is an attempt to search deleted and/or hidden documents that they may not otherwise be able to identify and locate during a cursory search of the computer.  Further, it also prevents people from using third party services to try and remotely destroy the hard drive.

As anyone that has any experience with a computer knows, it is nearly impossible to totally delete or hide a file in a computer. More often than not, law enforcement will find those documents that are attempting to be hidden or kept from folks access in the computer. For this very reason, it is necessary to quickly contact a Tampa Criminal Defense Attorney if you have reason to believe law enforcement is examining and/or considering seizing and examining your computer equipment. The sooner we can get involved in challenging the seizure of the computers, we may be able to keep law enforcement from actually evaluating and considering what’s on your computer to ensure your rights are protected.

If you have questions concerning a Tampa computer crime, such as possession of child pornography, identity theft and/or cases involving fraudulent tax returns, contact the Tampa criminal defense attorneys of Hackworth Law for a free case consultation. We have handled hundreds of cases involving issues with scientific evidence throughout the entire Tampa Bay area. If you would like to contact one of our Tampa defense attorneys immediately, please use the “contact us now” tab in the upper right hand corner of our website. We appreciate your time in checking out our Tampa defense attorney blog and look forward to hearing from you and working with you in the future.

This is an issue often discussed between Tampa Criminal Defense Attorneys concerning this ever changing area of law.  Unfortunately, with the proliferation of laptops and tablets, law enforcement quickly adopted and changed their strategies to seize and search the same. These issues often arise in cases involving the computer as a necessity to commit the alleged crime. The seizure of computers are often associated with charges such as the possession of child pornography, any case involving counterfeiting, identity theft cases, including but not limited to fraudulent tax return cases. As I’m sure you’re aware, Tampa is the tax fraud capital of the world, so law enforcement agencies in the area have ample experience seizing and copying hard drives of computers that are seized.

When law enforcement seizes a laptop, they immediately do what is called a “mirror” of the hard drive. In short, this means they literally make a hard copy of the hard drive. This is an attempt to search deleted and/or hidden documents that they may not otherwise be able to identify and locate during a cursory search of the computer.  Further, it also prevents people from using third party services to try and remotely destroy the hard drive.

As anyone that has any experience with a computer knows, it is nearly impossible to totally delete or hide a file in a computer. More often than not, law enforcement will find those documents that are attempting to be hidden or kept from folks access in the computer. For this very reason, it is necessary to quickly contact a Tampa Criminal Defense Attorney if you have reason to believe law enforcement is examining and/or considering seizing and examining your computer equipment. The sooner we can get involved in challenging the seizure of the computers, we may be able to keep law enforcement from actually evaluating and considering what’s on your computer to ensure your rights are protected.

If you have questions concerning a Tampa computer crime, such as possession of child pornography, identity theft and/or cases involving fraudulent tax returns, contact the Tampa criminal defense attorneys of Hackworth Law for a free case consultation. We have handled hundreds of cases involving issues with scientific evidence throughout the entire Tampa Bay area. If you would like to contact one of our Tampa defense attorneys immediately, please use the “contact us now” tab in the upper right hand corner of our website. We appreciate your time in checking out our Tampa defense attorney blog and look forward to hearing from you and working with you in the future.