6 hours Ago By Abhay Singh
1 2 NEW DELHI: Delhi Police is set to procure 15 forensic vans , each equipped with advanced investigation kits, bringing the total number of such vehicles to 30. The vans, which are likely to be operational by Nov, are expected to significantly bolster the department's ability to gather and analyse on-site evidence, improving the efficiency of police probes. Last year, police had procured 15 forensic vans.
Each vehicle is equipped with scientific kits designed for use at crime scenes, including murder, shooting, rape, detection of explosives, narcotics and arson, among others. "The kits are regularly updated with the latest forensic advancements. They allow experts to analyse fingerprints, documents, hair, textile fibres, bodily fluids, gunshot and explosive residue and various impressions.
Plus, they help keep the evidence intact," said an officer. One of the latest additions is the digital investigation kit , which allows experts to retrieve data from on-site electronic devices, speeding up the process considerably. "Earlier, electronic devices were sent to Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) for scanning, but now, with the kit, we can conduct initial investigations at the scene of the crime," the officer said.
Thus, if a phone or laptop is found at the spot, the kit can help extract data to determine whether any information has been deleted, theofficer added. Similarly, the vans will be equipped with high-intensity forensic light sources that can provide experts with tunable light options,including UV and fluorescence light, for the detection of blood, seminal stains and other biological evidence at the crime scene. Police said the kit will be used for fingerprint collection in murder, theft and robbery cases.
Latent, patent or visible prints can be collected with the help of the kit, which contains multi-coloured powder, magnetic powder and other specialised tools. Another important feature will be the barcode scanners that come in three dimensions, each with distinct characteristics and data storage capabilities. One-dimensional (1D) barcodes, consisting of vertical lines and spaces, store up to 20-25 characters.
Two-dimensional (2D) barcodes, appearing as grids, encode data horizontally and vertically, holding more information (often several thousand characters). Three-dimensional (3D) barcodes use height, depth and shape to encode data, potentially surpassing the storage capacity of 2D barcodes. The vehicles will also be equipped with a public announcement system, DSLR camera, thermal printer, CCTV dashboard cameras for the front and rear of the vehicle, generator and other equipment.
According to another officer, with the implementation of the new criminal laws, the workload for FSL has significantly increased and it is now responding to more locations. The new vans will provide additional benefits, enhancing its operational capacity and efficiency, he said. Special commissioner of police (crime) Devesh Chandra Srivastava said the addition of the vans will enhance on-ground scientific investigations.
"Forensic specialists can execute preliminary forensic examinations with the help of these mobile units and kits before transferring evidence to FSL for in-depth analysis," he said..
