Yoruba son develops forensic app for UK police

April 26, 2025

By Ayinde Adeleke

A Yoruba son and recent graduate of Staffordshire University, Ayodele Oduola, has developed a mobile application that is being used by over 800 officers within Staffordshire Police to improve the handling of electronic devices during investigations.

The app provides officers with real-time guidance on how to safely and effectively process electronic devices found at crime scenes.

The application features cross-platform compatibility, automatic device detection using IMEI numbers, tools to uncover hidden apps and media, capabilities to identify AI-generated content, and a cyber glossary designed for non-technical users.

According to the Staffordshire Forensic Partnership, the app has been praised for its effectiveness. In a LinkedIn post, they wrote: “The agenda wasn’t that full but the content and discussions around current and future work within the partnership were very much so.

“There was also time (well not quite as we ran over) for two demonstrations of ongoing work.

“One is a long running desire to create an app to support our offender management teams with the potential to lend itself as a concept to support front line staff as they navigate the digital world we live in.

“Its origins lie to some degree with our late friend Bob Shaw who was involved in some of the earlier developments.”

Oduola, who graduated with distinction in MSc Software Engineering and was named Best Graduating Student in 2024, created the app as part of a project aimed at reducing delays and errors in digital evidence collection.

The app is built using Flutter and integrated with third-party libraries and APIs.