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. For further information please contact Dr. Firas Khatib at fkhatib@umassd.edu \nEvent page: https://www.umassd.edu/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

Committee Members:

Dr . Yuchou Chang\, Computer & Information Science

Dr. Amir Akhavan M asoumi\, Computer & Information Science

Abstract:

The 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.

For further information please co ntact Dr. Firas Khatib at fkhatib@umassd.edu

Event page: https://www.umassd.ed u/events/cms/from-seizure-to-courtroom-a-blockchain-framework-for-verifiab le-evidence-chain-of-custody.php

DTSTAMP:20260430T162612 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260518T111500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260518T121500 LOCATION:Dion 311 SUMMARY;LANGUAGE=en-us:From Seizure to Courtroom: A Blockchain Framework fo r Verifiable Evidence Chain of Custody UID:f973eb7906fc21ea3c13df5c58448717@www.umassd.edu END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR