By PERRY SMITH / Staff Writer

HOOVER – Gary C. Wyatt General Contractor, LLC has been contracted for work on the $4.8 million project to build the U. S. Secret Service’s National Computer Forensic Institute in Hoover.

The 33,000 square-foot facility is expected to be completed late next year.

Announced in March of this year by the U. S. Department of Homeland Security, the state of Alabama and Hoover officials, the Institute will serve as a national cyber crimes training facility where state and local police officers, as well as prosecutors and judges, will be offered training on computer-related criminal activity.

“When it’s completed, the Institute will be an outstanding example of how pre-existing space can be converted into a best-in-class facility of this magnitude,” said Gary C. Wyatt, president of Wyatt General

The facility will include classrooms, a computer forensic lab with an advanced research and development area, an evidence vault, storage and server rooms, and public education space.

Training will be based on the current U.S. Secret Service curriculum and include basic electronic crimes investigation, network intrusion investigation and computer forensics.

“We believe the National Computer Forensics Institute’s presence marks a huge plus for the entire Birmingham – Hoover metro area,” said Wyatt.

“We at Wyatt are proud to be associated with this.