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K’taka police to get special investigators to collect forensic evidence
Bengaluru: In a first in the country, Karnataka Police is set to have its own unit of specialised investigators trained in forensic sciences to collect evidence from and protect any crime scene
Bengaluru: In a first in the country, Karnataka Police is set to have its own unit of specialised investigators trained in forensic sciences to collect evidence from and protect any crime scene.
According to senior police officers familiar with the development, chief minister B S Yediyurappa has already given permission for the project and an official order to recruit 206 Scene of Crime Officers (SCOs) is likely to be issued anytime soon.
“So far, the local police were doing this job. To make investigations more effective, there was a need for experts to gather evidence from crime scenes. The government has sanctioned 206 posts. Initially, the officers will be used only for cases of serious nature,” home minister Basavaraj Bommai said.
Speaking on the new initiative, additional director-general of police (crime and technical services) R Hitendra said a similar system exists in police departments across the world but not in India. He added that police officers who have been trained in evidence collection and securing crime scenes are often engaged in other duties such as maintaining law and order.
“The police constables or other officers have a duty of securing crimes scenes as it is not possible for forensic science labs (FSL) to come to the crime scene for all cases. So, we are creating a dedicated unit of people who are trained in forensic sciences,” he said.
Sharing the police’s plans for the separate unit, Hitendra said it will comprise candidates who are trained in forensic sciences and will not be part of the police force.
“Our current plans are to have one SCO for every police circle (a group of two to three police stations in rural areas). We are not planning a SCO for every police station since there are not enough major crimes taking place in the rural parts of the state. So, having one officer for each circle should take care of the requirement. Also, the government is also open to providing more officers, if need be,” he said.
“Crime scene management is a crucial part of any investigation. How the evidence is searched, catalogued and transferred can have a big impact on the investigation. There is a big difference between a trained forensic officer searching for evidence and police constables doing the same. This project provides the police force with more trained forensic experts for investigations,” an FSL officer said, wishing not to be named.
“At the same time, since experts in the firearms and physics section are available only at the FSL in Bengaluru, they have to travel to crime scenes across Karnataka, and many times, may not be able to visit the scene immediately. Having more people trained in the collection of ballistic evidence would help in quicker investigations,” the officer added.
In 2015, the state police had tried to reorganise the FSL and create a crime scene management section. As part of this, 33 district scientific aid units (DSAUs) were to be set up and some selected police personnel were to be trained at evidence collection. The plan, however, never took off.
“Poor handling of evidence by investigating officers has many a time resulted in destruction of crucial evidence before they are taken up for analysis. Crucial evidence may be missed or collected evidence may be degraded owing to improper handling and packing,” an internal document of Karnataka police on evidence collection read.
