More than 150 digital devices waiting to be examined by Thames Valley Police

The Police Federation of England and Wales said officers are "overwhelmed" by the amount of digital evidence they are faced with, warning that mounting workloads are a result of forces struggling to attract new detectives.

Data provided to the Press Association news agency through a freedom of information request showed a total of 165 devices were awaiting examination by Thames Valley investigators.

Across England and Wales, a total of 12,122 devices were awaiting examination.

The figures, covering 32 police forces, were obtained by PA in February and March.

Although there is no breakdown of what devices are being held in Milton Keynes specifically, the most common items nationally include computers, tablets and phones.

These can be used to check messages, photographs, emails or social media accounts as part of an investigation.

Thames Valley Police was one of four police forces in the South East to provide figures – at least 1,360 devices are waiting to be examined by these forces.

Estimates for how long it would take to clear the backlog for the forces that could provide one ranged anywhere between three months to more than a year.

Simon Kempton, technology lead for the Police Federation of England and Wales, said: "Investigators are overwhelmed with the sheer volume of digital evidence.

"Forces are struggling to attract new detectives which is resulting in mounting workloads.

"There is also a need for forces to invest in technology which can help speed up this process by extracting and sorting this data automatically."

A study by civil liberties group Big Brother Watch in 2017 found that 93% of police forces in the UK extract data from digital devices seized as evidence from suspects, victims and witnesses.

The latest figures provided to PA show the devices are linked to a wide variety of crimes, including possessing indecent images of children, violent crimes, sexual offences, fraud and robbery.

Mr Kempton said the 43 forces in England and Wales have different approaches, with some using the latest technology to download and analyse data and others not.

A new Forensic Capability Network (FCN) was launched on April 1 to create a more unified approach between police forces.

National Police Chiefs' Council lead for digital forensics, Deputy Chief Constable Nick Baker, said it would help reduce the size of the backlog.

"The process of identifying reasonable lines of inquiry, extracting relevant material from devices and reviewing it is time-consuming,” he added.

"With the launch of the FCN and ongoing efforts to identify smarter working practices, we aim to see a reduction in the number of devices to be investigated at any one time."

Responding to the findings, a spokesman for Thames Valley Police said there were a variety of reasons for the backlog.

“The digital examination queues have grown due to a variety of reasons including the increase in the number of investigations that rely upon digital forensics evidence and the sheer volume of data now stored on modern devices," a spokesman for TVP told the MK Citizen.

“Increasing the efficiency of such examinations is a top priority for the force due to the impact that delays have on the criminal justice process.

“Victims of crime remain at the forefront of all our investigations, and so in order to address the issues, a number of initiatives have already been put in place, incorporating additional resources and investment in new technology.

“The investment in the progression of digital examinations has been supported by the Chief Constable and PCC and there has been a significant uplift in digital examiners and investment in new technology, with further upgrades planned in the coming year.”