Accordingly the use of DNA fingerprinting and forensic analysis to solve cases has also increased, the Hyderabad police say. Previously in 2018, the Finger Print Unit under the Clues Team cracked a total of 103 cases in total and 21 arrests were made based on the evidence provided by the team. Recently the unit has also helped solve 50 previously unsolved cases after fingerprints from those cases were matched with first time offenders and the use of forensics by the police range from identifying unknown dead bodies to keeping track of previous offenders.
N Venkanna, scientific officer and head of Clues Team said “We use sophisticated technology such as XCAT to detect narcotics. We have a 3D scanner (Terrestrial Laser Scanning) to help us reconstruct a crime scene. We use high intensity lights UV and super lights to get possible leads for an investigation and presently we are involved with over 4,400 investigations in the city. We are now developing our digital forensic capabilities”.
Moreover the police claim that the use of technology has helped them get a 35 % conviction rate this year, which is 10 % more than last year. In 2017, the conviction was 598 cases and in 2018, it has gone up to 1,471 cases. Further those closely observing the sector feel that the Telangana police, much like the police in the rest of the country, are slow in technology adoption and could do better.
