BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 X-WR-CALNAME:EventsCalendar PRODID:-//hacksw/handcal//NONSGML v1.0//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/New_York LAST-MODIFIED:20240422T053451Z TZURL:https://www.tzurl.org/zoneinfo-outlook/America/New_York X-LIC-LOCATION:America/New_York BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZNAME:EDT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 DTSTART:19700308T020000 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=3;BYDAY=2SU END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZNAME:EST TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 DTSTART:19701101T020000 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=11;BYDAY=1SU END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES:College of Engineering,Thesis/Dissertations DESCRIPTION:Thesis Advisor: Dr. Firas D Khatib, Computer & Information Scie nce Committee Members: Dr. Yuchou Chang, Computer & Information Science Dr . Amir Akhavan Masoumi, Computer & Information Science Abstract: The integ rity of evidence chain of custody is fundamental to the administration of justice. From the moment evidence is seized to its presentation in court, each transfer, analysis, and storage event must be accurately documented t o preserve admissibility and public trust. Drawing from professional exper ience in law enforcement, the importance of maintaining a clear, consisten t, and defensible chain of custody is not only procedural but critical to the outcome of investigations and prosecutions. In practice, even minor di screpancies can raise significant legal challenges, reinforcing the need f or systems that ensure reliability and accountability. As the volume and c omplexity of both physical and digital evidence continue to grow, the need for a more robust and verifiable chain of custody has become more critica l than ever. However, traditional evidence management systems often rely o n fragmented databases, paper logs, or centralized digital records that ma y be vulnerable to human error, inconsistent auditing practices, or unauth orized modification. These limitations can complicate courtroom proceeding s and weaken confidence in evidentiary integrity. This thesis proposes a b lockchain-based framework for verifiable evidence chain of custody in law enforcement. Leveraging the immutability, transparency, and distributed co nsensus mechanisms of permissioned blockchain systems, the proposed model records evidence handling events as tamper-resistant transactions. The fra mework is designed to support role-based access controls, timestamped cust ody transfers, and cryptographic hashing of evidence metadata to ensure in tegrity without exposing sensitive case information. To evaluate the feasi bility and effectiveness of the proposed approach, a prototype system was developed to simulate the evidence lifecycle, including seizure, storage, laboratory transfer, and courtroom submission. Performance, integrity, and auditability were analyzed and compared with traditional record-keeping s ystems. The results demonstrate that blockchain-based custody logging enha nces tamper resistance and audit transparency while introducing manageable performance trade-offs. Beyond technical evaluation, this research examin es the legal and policy implications of implementing blockchain in evidenc e management, including considerations of privacy, admissibility standards , and institutional oversight. By integrating technical design with operat ional and legal analysis, this research presents a practical framework for strengthening evidence integrity for modern law enforcement systems.ÌýFor further information please contact Dr. Firas Khatib at fkhatib@umassd.edu \nEvent page: /events/cms/from-seizure-to-courtroom- a-blockchain-framework-for-verifiable-evidence-chain-of-custody.php X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:
Thesis Advisor: Dr. Firas D Kha tib\, Computer & Information Science
\nCommittee Members:
\nDr . Yuchou Chang\, Computer & Information Science
\nDr. Amir Akhavan M asoumi\, Computer & Information Science
\nAbstract:
\nThe inte
grity of evidence chain of custody is fundamental to the administration of
justice. From the moment evidence is seized to its presentation in court\
, each transfer\, analysis\, and storage event must be accurately document
ed to preserve admissibility and public trust. Drawing from professional e
xperience in law enforcement\, the importance of maintaining a clear\, con
sistent\, and defensible chain of custody is not only procedural but criti
cal to the outcome of investigations and prosecutions. In practice\, even
minor discrepancies can raise significant legal challenges\, reinforcing t
he need for systems that ensure reliability and accountability. As the vol
ume and complexity of both physical and digital evidence continue to grow\
, the need for a more robust and verifiable chain of custody has become mo
re critical than ever. However\, traditional evidence management systems o
ften rely on fragmented databases\, paper logs\, or centralized digital re
cords that may be vulnerable to human error\, inconsistent auditing practi
ces\, or unauthorized modification. These limitations can complicate court
room proceedings and weaken confidence in evidentiary integrity. This thes
is proposes a blockchain-based framework for verifiable evidence chain of
custody in law enforcement. Leveraging the immutability\, transparency\, a
nd distributed consensus mechanisms of permissioned blockchain systems\, t
he proposed model records evidence handling events as tamper-resistant tra
nsactions. The framework is designed to support role-based access controls
\, timestamped custody transfers\, and cryptographic hashing of evidence m
etadata to ensure integrity without exposing sensitive case information. T
o evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed approach\, a
prototype system was developed to simulate the evidence lifecycle\, includ
ing seizure\, storage\, laboratory transfer\, and courtroom submission. Pe
rformance\, integrity\, and auditability were analyzed and compared with t
raditional record-keeping systems. The results demonstrate that blockchain
-based custody logging enhances tamper resistance and audit transparency w
hile introducing manageable performance trade-offs. Beyond technical evalu
ation\, this research examines the legal and policy implications of implem
enting blockchain in evidence management\, including considerations of pri
vacy\, admissibility standards\, and institutional oversight. By integrati
ng technical design with operational and legal analysis\, this research pr
esents a practical framework for strengthening evidence integrity for mode
rn law enforcement systems.
Ìý
For further information please co
ntact Dr. Firas Khatib at fkhatib@umassd.edu