Commonwealth’s Attorney highlights digital forensics, caseload increases and training needs

Hannah, Cumberland County’s Commonwealth’s Attorney, briefed supervisors Feb. 25 on office operations, evidence tools and staffing needs.

Hannah described increased use of digital-forensics software (“phone dumps” and forensic phone analysis) that investigators run to extract texts and other evidence; she said Buckingham and Prince Edward cooperatively fund access so no single locality bears the full cost. Hannah reported the technology shortens turnaround times versus the state police process and provides locally available expert witnesses for court.

Hannah said caseloads have increased since taking office and noted that jury trial scheduling and discovery practices have changed under recent legislation; she described higher demands for continuing legal education (CLE) and requested modest budget increases for travel and training. She also requested an additional legal-assistant position tied to expected workload from sheriff’s office body-worn cameras: the county must provide staff to process and manage body-cam footage for disclosure; Hannah said a grant will cover much of the initial equipment cost but the office needs budget authorization to create the support position when required.

Hannah said the office handles a range of prosecutions and emphasized that “justice” can take many forms beyond convictions, including protective orders and successful dispositions. She described recent convictions and sentences in major narcotics and child-exploitation cases and said in-house capability to process evidence has improved case outcomes.