CA Attorney General unveils new anti-cyber crime tool at Fresno State

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- California's Attorney General made a visit to Fresno today to announce the latest tool to fight crime in the digital era. Harris unveiled a cyber crime fighting initiative at Fresno State.

"Cyber crime is very real," she said. "The difference to being hacked and not being hacked is knowing you've been hacked."

The state-of-the-art unit will help local law enforcement fight crime in the digital era

"Dealing with the traditional crimes or shootings and robberies and sexual assault but now we're having to be so focused on the cyber crimes," Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer said.

With state and local leaders by her side, the California attorney general explained how the mobile unit will give local agencies the tools most departments don't have.

The Central Valley's California Cyber Crime Center is the first one in the state.

"Fresno is a hub within the Central Valley and this is obviously a very big area that is often overlooked," she said. "We recognize that and decided this is where we are going to start to do the work."

The mobile forensics lab will assist in extracting evidence and analyze any information found on a laptop, phone or other electronic devices while at a crime scene.

"When we get that phone when we get that laptop when we get that device through a search warrant or other legal means lets have the skills and resources to actually be able to get the evidence out of it," Harris said.

Dyer said this unit will help speed up investigations by uncovering crucial evidence.

"For us to have the ability out in the field to download that data to our officers is critical and that is how it helps us in local law enforcement," he explained.

Harris has called the mobile lab the flagship unit of the state while northern and southern California must wait weeks or months for their units to arrive.