The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Police making little use of fingerprints

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Monday, Nov 03, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Police making little use of fingerprints

Raghava M.

This year, fingerprints of only 81 of the 2,089 accused and convicted have been taken till June
Bangalore police have been able to detect on an average of 80 cases every year since 2003

BANGALORE: Is there laxity on the part of police in using the tried and tested fingerprints in finding those involved in crimes such as murder, theft and robbery or is it an indication of police losing confidence over the effectiveness of the tool?

According to a review by the office of the Director-General and Inspector-General of Police, not much use has been made of the fingerprint inspectors posted in all districts. Similarly, the state-of-art Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) installed in the Fingerprint Bureau, Bangalore, in 2003 has not been used much, and efforts have not been made to increase the database of fingerprints.

Of the 8,037 cases of class 1 and 2 offences (cases such as murder, theft and robbery) reported in the State in 2007, Fingerprint experts were called only in 2,814 cases. In 4,444 cases reported till June, experts were called only in 1,500 cases. Of the 23,153 people arrested and convicted in 2007, fingerprints of only 10,528 have been taken.

For instance in Bangalore, fingerprint experts have been called in 1,204 of the 2,315 cases reported in 2007. Of the 4,212 people arrested and convicted in 2007, fingerprints of only 3,721 have been taken. Till June 2008, fingerprint experts have been called only in 600 of the 1,515 cases.

Similarly, fingerprints of only 81 of the 2,089 accused and convicted people have been taken till June 2008.

It has been long since the State police have been making use of fingerprints in the investigation. A Fingerprint Bureau was set up in Bangalore and it coordinated with the units set up in the three Commissionerate offices and six police ranges (Central, Southern, Eastern, North-eastern and Northern). One inspector, specially trained in collection of fingerprints, has been posted in each district.

The fingerprint inspector is supposed to visit crime spots and collect as many fingerprints as possible and send the prints for analysis.

The inspector should also collect fingerprints of suspected persons, accused as well as convicted persons in the form of slips and send them to the bureau. With a database of 2.32 lakh 10-digit fingerprints, the bureau uses AFIS to analyse and detect persons involved in the crime. Using the system, the Bangalore police have been able to detect on an average of 80 cases every year since 2003. Among others, Gulbarga police have detected 62 cases, Gadag 42, Bangalore district 33 and Hassan 30 cases between 2003 and September 2008.

The review has stressed the need for giving impetus to the working of the bureau and the personnel employed and make optimum use of the resources. One of the reasons for non-collection of fingerprints is the difficulty faced by the fingerprint inspector in reaching the crime spots on time.

“He is overburdened with work and it is difficult for him to cover all the spots. But we want him to visit as many spots possible and collect fingerprints. This will help in detection of more cases,” Additional Director General of Police (Crime and Technical Services) S.T. Ramesh said. Mr. Ramesh has asked the unit heads to ensure collection of 10-digit fingerprint slips of the accused, suspected and convicted persons and increase the database of AFIS. Senior officers have been directed to ensure that the guidelines issued for collection and examination of fingerprints are followed strictly.

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