How the UK Metropolitan Police Triaged 6,000 Devices and Transformed Frontline Digital Forensics

Law enforcement agencies worldwide are facing an unprecedented surge in digital evidence. For the Metropolitan Police Service (MET) in the UK—one of the largest police forces in Europe—the sheer volume of devices seized during investigations had become a significant operational hurdle. This was especially true in high-priority child sexual abuse material (CSAM) investigations, driven by a massive growth in online exploitation cases and referrals from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).

When a single search warrant can yield more than 100 devices, traditional forensic workflows quickly break down. Sending every device to a central laboratory creates unsustainable backlogs, leaving detectives waiting weeks or even months for actionable intelligence. The MET realised that simply expanding staff and resources was no longer enough to keep pace with the scale of digital evidence. They needed a fundamental shift in how they managed risk and made investigative decisions.

Pushing Digital Forensics to the Frontline

To overcome these challenges, the MET implemented a new operational model. They embedded digital forensic professionals directly within investigative units and deployed nearly 30 licenses of ADF Pro across their London forensic hubs.

This approach shifted the focus from comprehensive, lab-based examinations for every device to rapid, frontline digital triage. By integrating ADF Pro with their existing tools—including GrayKey file system extractions—and using customised search profiles tailored to specific operational risks, investigators could process large iPhone full file system datasets in under an hour.

The goal was simple but critical: empower officers to quickly determine whether a device contained illegal material, identify which devices belonged to suspects, and extract the evidence needed to support immediate investigative action. Instead of waiting for a lab report, investigators began receiving vital intelligence on the same day a search warrant was executed.

Delivering Results at Scale

The impact of this frontline triage model was immediate and substantial. Over a two-year period, the MET successfully triaged between 5,000 and 6,000 devices.

This process resulted in a 50% escalation rate, meaning half of the triaged devices required further action—split evenly between cases showing evidential indicators (25%) and those requiring more technical examination (25%). Crucially, this allowed the MET to filter out non-relevant devices early in the process, ensuring that central forensic laboratories were only dealing with devices that truly required deep analysis.

By prioritising high-risk cases and earlier identification of evidence, the embedded teams were able to operate at two to three times their previous capacity.

Changing the Culture of Digital Forensics

Beyond the operational metrics, the deployment of ADF Pro helped shift the internal culture at the MET. Initially, there was some skepticism from traditional laboratory examiners regarding the use of triage tools. However, as frontline triage reports began arriving alongside the devices, analysts quickly realised that the preliminary work saved them significant examination time.

As the Technical Lead for Frontline Digital Forensics at the Metropolitan Police Service noted, “ADF has become fundamental to how we manage risk and make investigative decisions at scale.”

A Scalable Model for Modern Investigations

The MET’s experience highlights a growing reality in digital forensics: traditional, centralized processing is no longer viable for every device. By modernizing their workflows and embracing digital triage, the Metropolitan Police Service established a scalable model that allows them to prioritize high-risk cases, reduce forensic backlogs, and make faster charging decisions.

Most importantly, it enables investigators to act swiftly, protecting victims sooner and allocating specialized forensic resources where they are needed most. For agencies struggling to manage the rising tide of digital evidence, the MET’s frontline triage model offers a proven blueprint for success.

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