Investigative Science

Professor Ran B. Singh.

Former Director, Forensic Science Laboratories, U.P.

The forensic science in its simplest form can be defined as common sense fortified by
experience, and in this form it has been used since ages all over the world to resolve and
elucidate doubts in innumerable number of cases for delivering the justice. Today
forensic science derives application from every field of science and technology and has
access to very sensitive and efficient analytical instruments, and computerized data
processing techniques.

Comprehensive forensic science laboratories examining all kind of physical clues under
one roof came up in nineteen fifties in the country. Earlier the institutions of chemical
examiners and scientific sections of CIDs of the state police were handling different types
of physical clues, which could be broadly put in two groups namely chemicals (including
biological samples) and physical (fire arms and ammunition, fingerprints and other
impressions, questioned documents etc.). The scientific investigation of crime scenes was
not in vogue in those days. The cases were referred to chemical examiner laboratories
under specific directions of courts. The scientific section of CIDs could examine the
cases on the request of the investigating agencies as well. In a way the scientific sections
were catering to the needs of investigators directly. The scientific support to criminal
justice system has undergone a sea change after the establishment of comprehensive
forensic science laboratories in all the states in the country. The examination of scenes of
crime by forensic scientists has now gained significant momentum.

The expected scientific support in investigation; and in judicial decision making may be
viewed in slightly different perspectives. In the process of investigation a hypothesis of
crime is formulated on the basis of the information gathered and various elements of the
hypothesis are verified/corroborated with the help of the physical evidences. If need be
the hypothesis of crime may be modified in the light of the outcome of preliminary
findings about the physical clues. In judicial decision making, the accused is presumed to
be innocent and emphasis is on the proof of crime. The difference in the perspectives of
the investigation and judgment are summarized in the following table.

Table 1
The difference in the perspectives of investigation and judgment

Investigation Judgment
(Investigative Science) (Forensic Science)

Probability of guilt Presumption of innocence

Associative Potential Discriminative Potential

Testing hypothesis of crime Proof of crime

 Collection of physical clues Analysis of physical clues

Suggestive opinion Definitive opinion

Proactive Approach Reactive Approach

For an example, if a chance fingerprint (partial) is developed at the scene of crime and
the expert finds seven matching points in the specimen fingerprint of the suspect, as per
the criteria of match a negative opinion would be given. But, from the point of view of
investigation we can not eliminate the suspect and additional physical clues or
intelligence should be looked for. Thus, the requirements of the investigation and judicial
process differ. It is only after exhausting the ways and means of gathering clinching
evidences, the relevant and supporting forensic evidences are put up for judicial decision
making. At the same time if there are clinching evidences against involvement of the
suspect in the crime, those are submitted for exonerating the suspect; for example
mismatching DNA of semen sample of the suspect in a rape case.

The scientific investigation of crime has expanded further and has made in road in the
process of formulation of hypothesis of crime also. The role and contribution of scientific
methods in investigation and judicial process can be categorized as: Investigative
Science and Forensic Science. The Investigative Science covers the methods and
techniques of collecting information and intelligence, formulation of hypothesis of crime,
collection of physical clues, and testing of hypothesis in the light physical clues. If need
be, revision of the hypothesis of crime and retesting. The process continues till the
solution of crime is achieved. The investigative and forensic sciences play critical role in
the rightful conviction of criminals as well as the exoneration of innocent person. The
effectiveness of the forensic science in the judicial decision making can be sustained only
by the quality of the reports. The technical capabilities of the laboratory and the abilities
of the scientists in the laboratory are, no doubt, very important factors in maintaining the
quality. However, these can be easily defeated if the physical clues are not proper or have
been tampered with. The analysis can be no better than the samples submitted for
analysis and hence the crime scene investigation and the tamperproof collection of the
physical clues have a vital role to play in the success of laboratory examination.

Collecting information and intelligence regarding ‘mens rea’ and ‘modus operandi’ of
crime to formulate the hypothesis of crime and to discover some of the hidden physical
clues are the basics of crime investigation. The age old methods of interrogation for
extracting information are so frightening that the society never approved them and,
presumably, because of that the statements/confessions before the police are not
acceptable under the prevailing law of the land. Recently, the techniques of ‘Narco
analysis (truth Serum)’, ‘Brain Electrical Oscillation Signature Profiling (Brain
Fingerprinting)’, and ‘Polygraph (Lie Detector)’ are being employed to obtain
information and verify the truth. In narcoanalysis the subject becomes dis-inhibitive
under the influence of drugs and talks freely without inhibition. In this process a lot of
information is revealed some of which may not be relevant to the crime in question. In

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polygraph test if the subject tries to lie there is a ‘response conflict’ in his mind causing
various physiological reactions. The strength and rate of pulse, galvanic skin response,
strength and rate of breathing, and blood pressure are recorded by the instrument to
monitor the physiological changes in the human body. For interrogation, the accused is
put to various questions and his physiological reactions during the question hour are
recorded and analyzed to detect deception, shown by abrupt changes in physiological
reactions. In brain electrical oscillation signature profiling an effort is made to
differentiate between ‘conceptual knowledge’ and ‘experiential knowledge’ to make the
findings more specific. Keeping in mind the capabilities of the techniques and needs of
investigation, I am of the view that the suspect should be subjected to narcoanalysis to
collect information regarding the main issue at hand and related questions. The
information thus obtained and inputs from interview of eye witnesses and locals, and
other relevant information (including intuition) should be collated. Based on this
‘information bank’ a plausible hypothesis of crime should be formulated and unresolved
questions (missing links) should be sorted out. A set of questions for verification (or lie
detection) should also be prepared. The exhaustive set of questions should be reviewed,
revised, and reassessed before the subject is given BEOSP or polygraph test for verifying
the facts of the case. The reports of the above tests would provide a firm ground for the
solution of crime.

There are people who are apprehensive about the use of these techniques and quote many
case laws, which may also be out of context, against these techniques. To the best of my
comprehensions there is nothing too serious against the use of these techniques and I am
sure soon there will be quotable case laws in favor of the techniques as well, to be quoted
in proper context.

Once the hypothesis of crime is formulated the effort is to be made to put the physical
(circumstantial) evidences together, which satisfy the judicial conscience by providing
the complete chain of events pointing to the accused and none else. This exercise also
helps in framing right questions for analysis of physical clues sent to the forensic science
laboratory. Without the right questions being thoughtfully and carefully framed there is a
little hope of getting all the relevant answers to corroborate, prove, or reconstruct various
circumstances of crime

It is not always easy to recognize and collect physical clues from the scenes of crime. The
scientist (scene of crime officer) has to be trained to develop necessary expertise in crime
scene investigation. A checklist (look at, and look for) should be carefully prepared for
major crimes so that a systematic search is made for potential physical clues. However,
every crime scene is unique in itself, and the checklist should be only for the guidance. It
can never be exhaustive in any case. One has to carefully scan and search the crime scene
for all possible clues of crime. There has been appreciable development and progress in
the scene of crime technology in the recent years. A number of test kits, collection kits,
light sources, imaging techniques, and portable analytical equipments are in vogue for
preliminary screening and collection of physical clues from the scene of crime.

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Dependable crime scene processing is essential and crucial for the scientific aid to justice
delivery system. At the same time, the integrity, authenticity and the chain of possession
of physical clues is of paramount importance in the utilization of the evidential value of
exhibits in a crime case. Recently, a number of cases have come to light where there are
allegations of tempering the physical clues by the investigating agency or the examining
agency. To avoid such allegation and dispute it would be desirable to record all the
activity of the crime scene processing including packing and sealing of the samples. The
opening of the packages in the laboratory should also be videographed so that the chain
of possession of the samples may be authenticated. In this process it is important to
emphasize on the shape, size, and characteristic features of the samples and the seals put
on the packages while videographing for this purpose. As per necessities/requirements
close-ups/enlarged photographs should also be taken.

The recordings of the crime scene processing, collection of physical clues and receiving
(opening of the packed physical clues) of the exhibits by the experts in the laboratory
should be transmitted and stored in a central server, which will serve as a databank for
future reference in the case of any question raised about local tampering of the
recordings.

The forensic experts reach the scene of crime soon after the crime has been committed to
carry out the scientific investigation and assist the investigating officers in the collection
of vital physical clues and also give preliminary suggestions regarding the crime. Such
services are provided round the clock to the Police Force in various states. In order to
transmit data from the scene of crime transportable VSAT Van can be used. The van will
reach the crime scene as and when required. The scene of crime officers can then take
pictures of the clues through digital camera and record the video of the proceedings at
crime scene through a digital handy camera. There may be instances wherein a mobile
van cannot reach the exact crime spot and may be required to be parked on the main road
that may be at some distance. Under such circumstances, the experts can carry a
suitcase/briefcase type of mobile portable videoconferencing system along with them to
the exact crime location.

Forensic science is a multi disciplinary activity involving almost all the discipline of
science and technology. While it may be feasible for someone to have general knowledge
and understanding of various disciplines, it is quite impossible for him to acquire
knowledge, ability, and expertise in all the disciplines. It is not practical to provide
experts of all the disciplines for crime scene processing, therefore, to provide guidance to
the person at the scene of crime; it would be advisable to have some access to the experts
in the laboratory. This can be achieved by providing connectivity between the crime
scene and the Forensic Science Laboratory. Therefore, a link has to be provided for
connection between the portable videoconferencing system at the crime spot and the
mobile van VSAT system. This will enable the field officers/experts to have live
interaction with the forensic experts sitting at the laboratory head quarters through the
satellite link from the mobile van VSAT terminal. The forensic experts at the head
quarters may be able to see the processing of the scene of crime live and interact with
field officers on the spot.

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The physical clues collected from the scene of crime are forwarded to the forensic
science laboratory in sealed parcels. The opening of the parcels in the relevant division of
the laboratory by the concerned expert should be videographed, highlighting the general
condition of the parcels, seals on the parcels, contents of the parcels, and characteristic
features of the exhibits noted and recorded at the scene of crime. This process would
establish complete chain of evidence (physical clues) from the scene of crime to the
expert, who examines the exhibits.

There should be a central server to process and store detailed information including video
clips. Suitable data authentication method should be adopted to preserve the original
information stored in the central server. It will serve as a referral database for disputes, if
any, in future regarding physical clues or any other point related to a crime scene.

Every scene of crime is different from the others and the experience of the scene of crime
officers plays a vital role in processing the scene of crime. The collection of recordings
of crime scene processing and observations will provide primary data for creation of a
databank of typical observations and interpretations at the scene of crime. The
information thus generated may be indexed and accessed as and when required. Such
databases would be quite helpful to the scene of crime officers and supervisors and
improve the quality of crime processing and ultimate use of science and technology in
criminal delivery system. Just to cite a few examples, it may be mentioned that in a crime
a Improvised Explosive Device (IED) was spotted at the scene of crime, which was
relayed on TV channels. After seeing the shape, size, and characteristic of the IED one of
the forensic experts pointed out that the same type of device was found in another case in
another city. The two may have some common connection. Similarly, in another case
some cartridges of the foreign origin were found at a crime, but the scene of crime
officers could not relate them while working on the spot. A photograph of the head
stamps of the cartridges was sent to another laboratory which has the data base of head
stamps and they could determine the origin of the cartridges. Such and other situations,
for example, determination of the type of explosives used from the crater dimensions of
the explosion; could be easily handled if there is a connectivity of the scenes of crime
with the central server. One can not always remember such data but these can be easily
retrieved from the data bank by remote connectivity for guidance while working at the
scene of crime. Of course, the remote connectivity will also facilitate on line access to
other data banks like fingerprints, DNA profiles, handwritings, marks on fired bullets;
modus operandi, facial features, and peculiar traits of hard core criminals etc.

Software for the generation and maintenance of database; and interrogation and retrieval
from the database in the central server should also be developed so that all the
laboratories and scenes of crime officers connected to the central server may gain from
the experiences of others in the profession.

The satellite technology can link geographically scattered, hilly, remote and rural areas,
and islands, It results in time saving and reduction in transportation costs. Satellite
services are being used for healthcare (remote consultation), accessing medical databases,

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tele-education, and administration of community initiatives, by relief organizations
during emergencies, international libraries, etc. ISRO has already configured Mobile
Telemedicine Vans to few hospitals with VSATs, for connectivity from a remote location
to a super-specialty hospital through satellite. These vans are taken to far-flung villages to
provide the villagers, consultations from super-specialty hospitals- using a telemedicine
system. These vans use a VSAT with roof-mounted antenna for communication with the
satellite. The above use of the technology is also similar to the above application. The
vans will be able to connect the scene of crime officers in the districts as well as far-flung
areas with the forensic science laboratory head quarters enabling efficient and time
saving interactions between scene of crime officers and experts at the laboratory head
quarter.

One of the major requirements of the proposed application is that the images should be
transferred from crime scene without loss of resolution and in near real-time. As such, a
minimum bandwidth of 512Kbps may be planned using H.264 video standard. Following
lists the overall service requirements from the network:

• Video recording at the crime scene

• Live transmission and interaction through videoconferencing
• Online or Offline Image/Data transfer (related to crime, important clues. etc.)
• Voice-over-IP (VoIP) facility for voice interaction only

The goal of the teleforensics suggested above is to create a higher level of available
competence at crime scenes. The goals can be summarized as follows:

• Tamperproof collection of physical clues of crime. Recording of crime scene

processing, and transmission of the proceedings at the crime scene to a central
server for record and future reference.

• Crime scene linkage with Forensic Science Laboratories through fast and efficient
data delivery via satellite to enable a live interaction of investigating
officers/scene of crime officers with a team of senior forensic scientists/experts.

• Creation of crime scene database on a central server, which shall include crime
scene images, recorded video clips of crime scene proceedings/clues, etc.

• Prompt finalization of some cases on the spot, which will reduce the burden on
the main laboratory.

• Reduce the frequent on site visits of senior scientists/experts which will increase
their availability and enhance the disposal of cases.

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• Immediate transferring of some evidences like finger prints to the main station for
database search and identification.

• Introduce innovative procedures, upgrade the techniques and technologies to

improve the quality of forensic analysis, which will help in better justice delivery.

• Update knowledge and skills through Forensic Science Education, and Training
of Judicial Officers, Police, Forensic Scientists, etc.

Specific accreditation program for crime scene investigation should be started to

ensure consistent practice. In general the biggest challenge in ensuring consistency is the
human factor and not infrastructure or management. The most crucial aspect of crime
scene investigation is the task of evidence recognition that is the selection of relevant
from irrelevant. As is known, even in the simplest crime scene no two are exactly alike
and each may contain numerous items of potential physical evidence. Thus, the evidence
recognition requires flexibility in the application of methods as well as methodical in
approach. This is the challenge in developing a rigid protocol for crime scene
investigation. The modern crime scene examiner should make, and has to make,
decisions at the scene. These decisions should be based on the application of a scientific
approach. The examiner should record not only what has been done but why. Consistency
is not about the blind use of micro detailed standard methods, it is about adherence to
core and critical elements with the backup of professional practice and a quality system.

If we really want to play our role to help the criminal justice system and provide noble
service to man kind in maintaining peace and order in the society, we need to work
harder to design and build the system which will put the investigative science, in respect
of al its deliverables, on a sound basis.