This presentation talks about

1. CombatingIndia’sInternalSecurityChallengesbyUsing
AdvancesinForensicScienceTechnology:AnInsight
Dr. Prashant Mehta
National Law University, Jodhpur

3. Our Problems
• The continuing tensions between India and Pakistan have a direct bearing on the
internal situation in India.
• The presence of hostile neighbor's enables the internal conflicts to get external
support, which includes money, arms, and sanctuaries.
• The rise of contentious politics based on sectarian, ethnic, linguistic or other
divisive criteria, is primarily responsible for the many communal and secessionist
movements flourishing in India.
• The democratic institutions and the state structures are still not strong enough to
fully harmonise these conflicts in a peaceful manner.
• India has been facing all types of violent conflicts based on religion, caste,
language, ethnicity and regional loyalties. Political insecurity further compounds
the problem.
• The police-politician-criminal nexus can embolden the criminal elements. Their
activities can create an environment of lawlessness

4. Our Problems
• The crime syndicates are finding the new communication and information
technology very useful.
• Many of the insurgent and militant groups are not driven by ideology, but by sheer
greed. Money power is a bigger motivating factor than ideology.
• With the ‘Golden Crescent’, and the ‘Golden Triangle’ in India’s neighborhood,
drug trafficking poses yet another threat to our security.
• In North East some groups seek secession from the Indian Union, some others
seek separate states and yet others greater autonomy within the existing state.
• The root cause for the rise in Left extremism is the inability of the states to address
the many genuine grievances of the people. A callous district administration,
especially in the rural areas, a clogged judicial system and feudal attitudes have
compounded the problem.
• Their aim is to overthrow what they call an unjust socio-economic system. Corrupt
politicians, policemen and civil servants have made their own adjustments with
these groups. A live-and-let live attitude is mutually beneficial to all of them.

8. Forensic Science
• Forensic science is the use of science in the service of the law.
• Sciences used in forensics include any discipline that can aid in the collection,
preservation and analysis of evidence such as chemistry (for the identification of
explosives), engineering (for examination of structural design) or biology (for DNA
identification or matching).
• Analysis of forensic evidence is used in the investigation and prosecution of civil
and criminal proceedings.
• Forensic evidence is also used to link crimes that are thought to be related to one
another. For example, DNA evidence can link one offender to several different
crimes or crime scenes.
• Linking crimes helps law enforcement authorities to narrow the range of possible
suspects and to establish patterns of for crimes, which are useful in identifying and
prosecuting suspects.
• New technology can be used and refined not only to keep forensic scientist on the
cutting edge of science, but to maintain the highest standards of quality and
accuracy.

12. Digital Evidence
• Digital devices are everywhere in today’s world, helping people communicate
locally and globally with ease.
• Computers, cell phones and the Internet as the only sources for digital evidence,
but any piece of technology that processes information can be used in a criminal
way.
• The important thing to know is that responders need to be able to recognize and
properly seize potential digital evidence.
• Digital evidence is defined as information and data of value to an investigation that
is stored on, received or transmitted by an electronic device. This evidence can be
acquired when electronic devices are seized and secured for examination. Digital
evidence:
– Is latent (hidden), like fingerprints or DNA evidence
– Crosses jurisdictional borders quickly and easily
– Can be altered, damaged or destroyed with little effort, Can be time sensitive
• There are many sources of digital evidence, where evidence can be
found: Internet-based, Stand-alone computers or devices, and Mobile devices.
• These areas tend to have different evidence-gathering processes, tools and
concerns, and different types of crimes tend to lend themselves to one device or
the other.

15. Explosives Analysis
• A detailed investigation of a blast site will reveal crucial clues to lead the
investigation. By thoroughly documenting the condition of the scene, including any
structural damage and injuries or fatalities, investigators can slowly piece together
what occurred.
• Fragments of an exploded device will often be left intact, including switches,
wiring, timers and circuit boards. Fragments of circuit boards, fingerprints, even
pieces of pet hair have been used to help narrow the investigation and nab a
perpetrator.
• After an explosion, residue from the explosive that was used will be left behind. To
identify the type of explosive used, investigators may use an ion mobility
spectrometer (IMS), a handheld chemical detection device, to identify residues
that may be present around the blast site.
• In addition to collecting physical evidence, video footage may be available from
security cameras or from witnesses’ cell phones.

17. Narcotic Drugs
• The illegal drug trade creates a global black market economy that puts the public
at risk, not just from the substances being distributed, but also from the
subsequent crimes committed by users, traffickers and manufacturers.
• These crimes typically include burglary, assault and fraud, but can also involve
more serious crimes such as homicide, abduction and human trafficking.
• Forensic drug chemistry uses a series of processes performed in the field or
laboratory to detect the presence or absence of controlled substances.
• Chemical analysis performed in the laboratory on submitted evidence detects and
identifies illegal drugs, and helps law enforcement prosecute offenders.
• This practice uses a variety of chemical analysis methods to conduct both
presumptive and confirmatory tests on seized material suspected to be or contain
illegal substances.
• Results from this analysis often serve as the basis for criminal proceedings and
help to determine sentencing for convicted offenders.

20. Fire Arms
• The field of forensic firearms identification, sometimes called ballistics, is at its
heart the ability of a firearms examiner to determine if a particular bullet or
cartridge case was fired from a specific firearm.
• This determination can be made thanks to small, often microscopic markings
on bullets or cartridge cases that are unique to ammunition fired from that
firearm.
• Although the examiner cannot determine who actually fired a weapon,
matching the ammunition to a weapon provides vital facts for the
investigation.
• In conjunction with this, the examiner has the ability to explain how a firearm
functions and what safety features a firearm might have.
• This can have an impact on investigations of suicides, unintentional shootings
and accidental firearm discharge.

22. DNA
• The establishment of DNA analysis within the criminal justice system in the
mid-1980s revolutionized the field of forensic science.
• With subsequent refinement of DNA analysis methods in crime laboratories,
even minute amounts of blood, saliva, semen, skin cells or other biological
material may be used to develop investigative leads, link a perpetrator or
victim to a crime scene, or confirm or disprove an account of the crime.
• Because of the accuracy and reliability of forensic DNA analysis, this evidence
has also become an invaluable tool for exonerating individuals who have been
wrongfully convicted.
• Jurors now increasingly expect DNA evidence to be presented in a wider array
of cases, even when other types of evidence may be more valuable to the
investigation.

24. Finger Prints
• We touch things every day: a coffee cup, a car door, a computer keyboard. Each
time we do, it is likely that we leave behind our unique signature—in our
fingerprints.
• No two people have exactly the same fingerprints. Even identical twins, with
identical DNA, have different fingerprints.
• This uniqueness allows fingerprints to be used in all sorts of ways, including for
background checks, biometric security, mass disaster identification, and of course,
in criminal situations.
• Fingerprint analysis has been used to identify suspects and solve crimes for more
than 100 years, and it remains an extremely valuable tool for law enforcement.
• One of the most important uses for fingerprints is to help investigators link one
crime scene to another involving the same person.
• Fingerprint identification also helps investigators to track a criminal’s record, their
previous arrests and convictions, to aid in sentencing, probation, parole and
pardoning decisions.

26. Biometrics
• A biometric is a physiological or behavioral characteristic of a human being that can
distinguish one person from another and that theoretically can be used for
identification or verification of identity.
• Why Biometrics:
– Identity thefts,
– Something you know can be stolen,
– Predicted or hacked,
– Reliability on manual verification.
• Biometric applications available today are categorized into 2 sectors
• Psychological: Iris, Fingerprints, Hand, Retinal, and Face recognition
• Behavioral: Voice, Typing pattern, Signature

27. Technique Strength Weakness
Retina Highly Accurate Inconvenient for persons with eyeglasses;
dislike contact with device and light beam
Iris Highly accurate; works with eyeglasses;
more acceptable to users than retina scan
New technology, cost, although this is
rapidly changing
Finger Print Mature technology; highly accurate; low
cost; small size, becoming widely acceptable
Users can create high FRR; some persons
dislike contact with device
Hand/Finger Geometry accurate and flexible; widely acceptable to
users
User interface is bulky; dislike contact with
device
Face Recognition Widely acceptable to users; low cost; no
direct contact; passive monitoring possible
Face recognition is less accurate than other
methods
Voice Recognition Usable over existing telephone system;
good for remote access and monitoring;
Less accuracy; subject to background noise
Signature Recognition Widely acceptable to users Less accuracy; not widely used yet, but has
potential with PDAs
Keystroke Recognition Widely acceptable to users; low cost; uses
existing hardware
Less accuracy

29. Document Examination
• The discipline of forensic document examination, often referred to as “questioned
documents,” is frequently associated with white-collar crimes such as check fraud;
however, in practice, this area of forensic science can be used in a wide array of
cases from medical malpractice to art forgeries to homicides.
• Armed with sophisticated technology, forensic document examiners can peer into
the visible and invisible marks on a document to extract an abundance of details
that may verify authenticity or provide additional information crucial to the
investigation.
• The digital age has made the work of forensic document examiners even more
important.
• With the availability of powerful software programs such as Adobe® Photoshop®,
Acrobat® and others, it has become significantly easier for criminals to create and
manipulate all manner of fraudulent documents from contracts to currency.
• Counterfeit currency can also be identified easily using forensic tools.

31. Conclusions
• The internal security problems should not be treated as merely law and order
problems.
• They have to be dealt with comprehensively in all their dimensions and at all levels
— political, economic and social. They are all interlinked. At times, the required
measures will conflict with each other. Going too far in one direction could be
counter-productive.
• The security requirements have to be met, but that does not mean giving the
security agencies a free hand. Striking the right balance is the key to success in
meeting these challenges effectively.
• We need a comprehensive security policy that will be implemented effectively at
all levels.
• Effective use of Forensic Science techniques can help solve many problems related
to internal security.