Police tracking social media to fight crime

As investigations into heinous crimes are being delayed by the Delhi Police, the force has adopted various technologies to speed up investigation. Even the Lieutenant Governor has stepped in and sought a response from the police on how they plan to use technology to propel the pending investigations, which have escalated to two lakh cases.

Highlighting the use of social media, the Delhi Police, in a law and order meeting with the Lieutenant Governor last week, said the use of social networking sites such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter in the commission of crime could be worked out through the use of mobile phones and internet. Even though the police has no official Instagram handle, officers use their personal accounts to trace the movement of criminals. "The use of Internet Protocol (IP) address is also helpful to check and curb cyber-related issues. In the case of online or bank-related fraud, the internet plays a vital role," said a senior officer.

The police have also revealed that fingerprint technology and Aaadhar cards have also helped trace criminals. In the case of homicidal deaths, DNA analysis technology is used. Other applications such as Snapchat and WhatsApp also help in tracing the accused. Last week, the police busted a gang of car jackers was busted by west district police, wherein the gang formed a WhatsApp group and shared details of their next heist.

Other technologies used to crack cases of forgery include polygraph test, narco test, voice recording and forensic science technology.