From Fishing to Forensics
Alber Consulting grew out of an addiction to offshore fishing in Southwest Florida. The reefs, wrecks, and ledges off Naples, Marco Island, and the Florida Keys held the fish that fed the addiction, and consistently finding those spots was critical to success. Back then, the navigational tool of choice was Loran C, and coordinates for productive fishing holes were worth their weight in gold. Every fisherman serious about catching grouper and snapper had a closely guarded “little black book” filled with Loran numbers. Then, in the mid-nineties, a new system came online, and the numbers started to change. The new system was called GPS, and it plotted courses using a different set of coordinates. The Loran numbers that filled those little black books were suddenly becoming obsolete. In order to preserve my hard-earned fishing coordinates, we started experimenting with various software that (I hoped) would accurately convert Loran C coordinates into latitude and longitude.
My efforts had some exciting and unexpected results. I learned that our new GPS devices had internal memories containing surprising amounts of data. They were like tracking devices that automatically logged detailed information about our every move. Even the simple hand-held unit I used would record thousands of data points, including precise positions, dates, times, and speeds. I quickly realized that the data held in these devices could help me in my work as a marine law enforcement officer. GPS forensics opened new avenues of ingestion and new sources of evidence. Using GPS data, I could accurately determine the speed of boats and their direction of travel before a crash. Historical data also established behavior patterns and sometimes identified bad decisions or reckless behavior that directly contributed to an incident. Soon, I was helping other officers with their cases, and it wasn’t long before I started getting requests for assistance from different agencies.
In early 2012, I created the GPS Forensics Training Program for the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA). As the program manager, I began teaching GPS forensic techniques and training GPS forensics instructors. The course has now been delivered to investigators nationwide, and the United States Coast Guard offers grant funding for officers to attend. Today, Alber Consulting LLC is a leader in GPS forensic analysis and boating incident investigation. With over 30 years in the maritime field, we are uniquely qualified to assist with civil and criminal litigation. Our real-world experience responding to and investigating boat incidents means we can accurately identify and interpret crash damage. The digital evidence we acquire from GPS navigation systems can identify precise locations, times, speeds, historical trends, and behavior patterns. The result is a comprehensive analysis that leads to successful outcomes. Alber Consulting has delivered expert witness testimony on the state and federal level and stands ready to assist with your needs.