NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has asked the government to consider the use of digital photography and recording of crime scenes in a bid to revamp the age-old criminal investigation system, which often results in a high number of acquittals.
The court has suggested the use of body-worn cameras to enable gathering of exact information and minute details from the crime scene, which are vital for criminal trials. Digital recordings would be easy to preserve too.
According to the court, digital photographs should be clicked and videos recorded without delay, and both must be shared across police stations on a real-time basis to make criminal investigation sharper and faster.
“We have seen how Federal Bureau of Investigation officers in the US visit the crime scene with body-worn cameras. This acts as a deterrent, apart from being a useful tool in collecting evidence,” a bench of Justices Adarsh K Goel and Uday U Lalit had observed last week.
The court also pointed out that recording of crime scenes with high-resolution digital cameras would come in handy for forensic analysis.
Senior advocate Arun Mohan, who has been assisting the court as amicus curiae, suggested that cameras having a time-stamp and GPS location should be used.
Mohan said a time-stamp and GPS location would make photographs credible as evidence during trial, and the final specifications for the cameras could be laid down by the Bureau of Police Research and Development.
He suggested that states could create portals where digital images of crime scenes could be transmitted, and time-stamps and reference numbers noted.
It was also recommended that details could then be downloaded and added to the case diary. The counsel, appearing for the Centre, said the government would give serious thought to revamping the system and allocate adequate funds.
Last March, the court had noted several shortcomings in the way in which crime scenes were investigated by the police. It had then decided to examine the use of technology to improve the quality of investigation and recording of evidence.