Amid protests and riots, police put faith in tech

NEW DELHI: In 2020, when the overall crime in Delhi dipped, the Delhi Police faced newer challenges in the form of mass protests and riots leading the force to deploy technology to deal with crimes that involved mobs instead of the conventional crime, Delhi Police commissioner SN Shrivastava said on Friday.

Addressing the annual press conference, Shrivastava said technology was used extensively to investigate over 750 cases related to the northeast Delhi riots that led to the arrest of over 200 people.

“Of them, 137 were identified through FRS (Facial Recognition System) when matched with criminal records and remaining 94 were through driving licence photographs,” the commissioner said.

Communal violence broke out in north-east Delhi on February 24 after clashes between citizenship law supporters and protesters spiralled, leaving at least 53 people dead and around 200 injured.

In January this year, farmers protesting against the three new farm laws clashed with the police and stormed the Red Fort during the tractor rally on Republic Day.

Since these challenges involved protests leading to violence by unidentified mob, the Delhi Police brought in the face recognition technology -an intervention that helped the police zero in on suspects who were allegedly part of the mob.

Shrivastava said the police are using video analytics, face recognition systems, geo location, drone mapping and DNA finger printing to gather scientific evidence and conduct that is helping help them to conduct “free and fair” investigations.

Referring to the investigation in the violence during tractor rally, Shrivastava said of the 2,700 video clips and pictures that the police have received from general public and hundreds of CCTV and mobile phone videos were analysed using video analytics and face recognition. The data gathered was then matched with driving licence database to identify suspects.

“We are also using technology to help us with handwriting analysis, in tracking funding for anti-social activities and to retrieve deleted data from electronic devices,” he said.

To demonstrate how the police were using the face recognition technology, police showed how a man who was wearing a yellow- blue jacket was identified by the software at multiple places during the north-east Delhi riots. The photo was then matched with the driving licence database to identify him.

Shrivastava said FRS was being uploaded in the phones of beat constables so that they can scan the face of a suspect to check his criminal record.

Former IPS officer Ashok Chand said scientific evidence is helpful as it cannot be disputed and is accepted in the court of law. “It is considered to be conclusive evidence in court and helps take an investigation to its logical end, and build a strong case,” Chand said.

POLICE SAID THEY USED TECH TO PROBE OVER 750 CASES RELATED TO THE DELHI RIOTS THAT LED TO THE ARREST OF OVER 200 PEOPLE