The Canadian criminal justice system is an adversarial system which pits the accused person against the State. The adversarial process follows a well-defined series of procedural steps from initial complaint to verdict and sentencing. This course provides a detailed examination of the legal procedures that govern criminal proceedings in Canada including the tendering of evidence by both Crown and defence, with a particular emphasis on issues applicable to forensic investigators and technicians. Prerequisite: Admission to a Forensic credential program or permission of the Program Coordinator.

Forensic evidence is subject to all the general rules related to the admissibility of evidence in the criminal trial process and is also subject to certain unique rules of scrutiny. This course examines the fundamental laws of evidence within the adversarial process and provides a context for the expert in their role as witness. Prerequisites: FSCT 7001

This course is designed to introduce students to the dominant legal issues arising in relation to computers, Information Technology and the Internet. It is also designed to provide students with basic legal research skills they can use to monitor developments in the law relevant to their interests or job functions. Prerequisite: Admission to a Forensic credential program or permission of the Program Coordinator.

This course provides an introduction to commercial crimes in Canada. Three main issues are considered: theory (the criminal code section and the fundamental legal principles underlying the offence); practical criteria (identifying the priority elements of proof that are required from a practical point of view) and satisfying the criteria (reviewing the usual types of evidence required to prove the offence). Primary commercial crimes considered include: fraud, theft, counterfeit currency, credit and debit card offences, internet based frauds, conspiracy and money laundering. Others, briefly introduced topics include: stock market manipulation and other securities related offences, criminal breach of trust, custom and excise offences, secret commissions, planned bankruptcy and possession of goods obtained by crime. Reference is made to various industry issues such as banking regulations as they impact on the offences being studied. In addition, 21st century issues such as the global economy, telemarketing, the cable industry and gaming are also discussed. Prerequisite: Admission to a Forensic credential program or permission of the Program Coordinator.

This course will provide the student with an introduction to the use of computers in policing. The material will be broken down into five sections: 1. Computing fundamentals and computer history; 2. Networks, networking technologies, the Internet; 3. Security technologies, tools and techniques; 4. Computer crime, investigative techniques, forensic examination; and 5. Administrative computing in the police environment. The course will provide an overview of these areas and provide enough information to allow investigators to make intelligent decisions when confronted with computer systems, computer-based crime, proposals for new computing projects, or to assist their agencies in working with the community. Prerequisite: Admission to a Forensic credential program or permission of the Program Coordinator.

The outcome of most investigations usually depends on the information supplied by victims, witnesses and suspects to an investigator. The amount and veracity of this information is of utmost importance. In this course, investigators learn methods and techniques available for interviewing victims, witnesses and suspects to obtain proper, informative and legal statements that will both aid in the investigation and be acceptable to the court. Prerequisites: 60% in FSCT 7002

There are two management concepts that when applied to any endeavor - including conducting complex criminal or civil investigations - historically tend to produce very successful outcomes. These concepts, using the strength of teams and project management, each have followers on an individual basis. The focus of this course will be to expose the student to both concepts to enable them to develop and experience an organized approach of any type of investigation. Prerequisite: Admission to a Forensic credential program or permission of the Program Coordinator.

The course is divided into the following major modules: 1) Concepts and processes of business continuity planning. 2) Risk Assessment. 3) Business Impact Analysis. 4) Technology requirements and techniques. 5) Developing recovery scenarios and plans. 6) Maintaining and testing plans. 7) Use of templates and software to facilitate the development, maintenance and testing of BCP plans. Course instruction may also include guest speakers from local industry, instructional videotapes and off-site visits to demonstrate and reinforce course material. Students will work through a practical assignment where they will develop a real-world business continuity / disaster recovery plan. Prerequisite: Admission to a Forensic credential program or permission of the Program Coordinator.

This course introduces investigative techniques involving computers. It covers the methods by which computer crime is committed, and the criminal code of offences and other statutes involved in those actions. Emphasis is on the proper identification of relevant evidence and securing, analyzing and presenting that evidence in court. It also includes forensic software tools that are used by computer crime investigators. Prerequisite: Admission to a Forensic credential program or permission of the Program Coordinator. (N.B. Students are advised to have a basic knowledge of computing hardware, architectures, components, and technologies).

The Internet consists of about ten billion pages of information yet many investigators and analysts make only superficial use of this amazing resource. This course was designed for those who need to search more aggressively and use information more carefully than the general public. The intention of this course is to turn those who already have some computer and Internet experience into power users of the Internet and to reveal how the Internet can augment their traditional investigative methodology. It covers not only technical issues, but includes how to formulate good search strategies and mine the Invisible Web. Students develop and refine their search skills in the first half of the course. The second half introduces tools and techniques to make searchers more efficient, effective, and secure. The course concludes with a module on cybercrime. Prerequisite: Admission to a Forensic credential program or permission of the Program Coordinator.

Maintaining an Internet focus, this course provides the investigator a general understanding of computer network systems and architectures with an emphasis on overall system security and forensic techniques. After gaining an understanding of how computers communicate via the Internet, Wide and Local Area Networks, combined with an overview of system administration as it pertains to police investigations, students will receive hands-on experience in the use of basic UNIX commands, symmetric and asymmetric cryptographic tools and firewalls. Also covered are various techniques that can be employed for the interception and tracking of Internet communications, network penetration tools and an overview of hacker culture. Prerequisite: Admission to a Forensic credential program or permission of the Program Coordinator.

This course builds on the foundation of LAN security and forensic techniques established in FSCT 8540: Computer Security Networks 1. More advanced TCP/IP topics will be covered in a practical hands-on environment. The goal of this course is to address current network attacks and exploits in the real world, and the security strategies widely used to protect the network environment. Students will learn about common IP-based attacks and manipulations, network traffic analysis, perimeter defense through firewall design and implementation, Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) as well as network monitoring. Throughout this course, extensive hands-on exercises provide the students with practical experience in using and implementing packet filters, firewalls, IDS and network monitoring, coupled with good understanding of hacker tools and exploits and how to defend against them. Prerequisite: Admission to a Forensic credential program or permission of the Program Coordinator.

The focus of the course will be on crime scene investigations by first responders, examination of digital evidence, investigative uses of technology, investigating electronic technology crimes, and digital evidence retention and documentation, and courtroom presentation of digital evidence. Case studies of investigations performed on a real-world compromised system with lab-style, hands-on setting will be included in the course. Prerequisite: Admission to a Forensic credential program or permission of the Program Coordinator. (N.B. Students are advised to have a basic knowledge of the various operating systems).

This course will focus on the concepts and applications of cryptography, covering topics on symmetric and asymmetric cryptography; secret key and key exchange; stream and block ciphers; message digests; public and private keys; digital signatures, digital certificates and Public Key Infrastructure (PKI); SSL, IPSec VPN's, S/MIME, PGP and WEP/WPA; cryptographic and non-cryptographic attacks; randomness and primality; cryptographic algorithms (DES, 3DES, AES, Blowfish, RSA, DSA, DH, El Gamal, ECC, MD5, SHA, RC4, etc.); and authentication, confidentiality, integrity and non-repudiation. Introduction to real-world use and applications will be included. Prerequisite: Admission to a Forensic credential program or permission of the Program Coordinator.

The course covers a wide range of topics from common vulnerabilities and tools that are used to exploit, to incident response and handling. Addresses theoretical and practical issues in malicious programs and scripts, stegonagraphy, worms and different types of network exploits and attacks. Prerequisite: Admission to a Forensic credential program or permission of the Program Coordinator. (N.B. Students are advised to have a basic knowledge of data communications and networks).

This course is designed to provide the forensic investigator the concepts of case management and the application of case management methods in organizing investigative teams, planning investigative actions and analyzing evidence and intelligence. Prerequisite: Admission to a Forensic credential program or permission of the Program Coordinator.

This course provides an introduction to the assessment of risk for sexually deviant and violent behaviour. Participants learn about factors which are correlated to prediction of violent behaviour in people. The discussion of psychopathy, mental illness, personality disorders, deviance, and substance abuse takes place in the context of the behavioural science approach to police investigation. Prerequisite: Admission to a Forensic credential program or permission of the Program Coordinator.

This course introduces students to contemporary techniques and applications of intelligence used within the enforcement, regulatory and compliance community. The subject will provide the basis for advanced study in intelligence analysis and strategic intelligence. Prerequisite: Admission to a Forensic credential program or permission of the Program Coordinator.