This Article is written by Gurleen Kaur, a Fourth-Year Law Student of St. Soldier Law College

Introduction[i]

Technology plays a very pivotal role in the procedure of investigation nowadays. It can easily solve matters of crimes by quickly analyzing clues through digital modes like computers, phones, and security cameras. It helps police to gather evidence rapidly and more accurately. It can also analyze data with the help of artificial intelligence and can identify suspects through their fingerprints or DNA, which can prevent future crimes. We can also track any suspected person with the help of technology and through their social media platforms. The legal consideration in this matter states that the data collected and analyzed should be in a proper lawful manner. There should be transparency in the use of artificial intelligence and it should not be biased. The use of technology in investigation should not infringe on any other’s right to privacy. In this process many times we have to face some complications regarding legal issues. So as not to fall into these problems, investigators can seek help from legal experts in these matters also. In this article, we will discuss the impact of technology on criminal investigation combined with legal considerations.

Evolution of Technology in Criminal Investigation[ii]

The Historical methods of investigation are divided according to the period in medieval times torture was the very used way where the suspect was physically tortured until a satisfactory statement or evidence was not consumed, later this method was changed by Bounty Hunters in the Wild West era. In the 19th century, Detective agencies came into existence. The period of 19th-20th century Sherlock Holmes-style deduction was very famous. In the early 20th century polygraph tests were very famous and in the mid-20th century wire patting methods were used.

Technology in criminal investigation is a very freshly evolved concept. Before that, traditional methods for the investigation were used. The traditional method of investigation is interviews and interrogation surveillance and observation, which is still in use but with a collaboration of technology. The Pre-Technology Investigation techniques lowkey took a longer time to investigate or reach the final verdict. Such techniques are footprint analysis, Handwriting analysis, bloodstain pattern analysis, physical surveillance such as tailings and stakeouts, snitch systems or informant networks, canvassing, and door-to-door inquiries (this is so much effort and time-consuming), Manual record-keeping and file review. These all methods were practiced before the entry of technology in the area of criminal investigation. These methods are very basic still some are still used in the investigation but with the use of technology their working speed has increased and the result is quick because e manual options have changed with the automatic techniques which makes it easy for the officers to step up for further investigation proceedings.

The present trendy way of investigation is done with the use of biometrics where we don't need to examine the fingerprints and footprints of the fugitive but they can be examined with the help of biometrics. Artificial Intelligence has proved very beneficial for criminal investigation which also extended its scope and ability to investigate complex situations and areas.

Benefits of Technology in Criminal Investigation[iii]

where nowadays culprits use technology in a vicious form to fulfill their evil plans and damage the victim’s intellectual property or any other area. In the field of investigating those crimes technology also proved beneficial and hence helped in various crime scenes to analyze or examine the evidence such as analysis and matching of DNA, recognition of face, and biometrics. Also, technology is very beneficial in forensic examination.

The technology also enhanced the speed of investigation and also evolved the accuracy of the tests. Data can be managed and analyzed easily and automatically with the help of technology. It can also track the convict through the means of social media and IP addresses. Especially in the cases of cybercrimes, it is very useful and beneficial. The cyber police can track the locations of any suspected person on the geological level, which cannot be done without the help of technology.

With the growth of technology, the cost of investigation also decreases due to less accommodation of labor and paperwork, and the evidence collection and management costs are also saved. This practice saves time and also builds trust among the people because of quick resolution and accurate results. Technology also detects the repeating patterns of the crime and with the use of artificial intelligence, we can easily detect the different and similar patterns of the fugitives.

Legal Considerations: Privacy and Data Protection[iv]

During the investigation, personal information such as names, addresses, contact details, emails, financial information, and health records should be kept confidential and can’t be publicized. This is the rule when we are performing any criminal investigation. It is very important for the protection of a person's data and also to prevent unauthorized access to the information and keep it safe and accurate. The investigator must perform the investigation to get warrants or consent before the investigation also uses secure storage for the data with limited data sharing. If he has made any mistake while doing this, the evidence will not be accepted or maybe he can be dragged into any legal trouble and his reputation will be damaged due to this.

Laws and regulations that are made for the protection of data and privacy protection are as follows:

1. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

2. California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)

3. Electronic Communication Privacy Act (ECPA)

4. Privacy Act (1947)

5. Electronic Communication Privacy Act (ECPA)

6. Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA)

7. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) guidelines

8. Federal Rules of Evidence (FRE)

9. Digital Forensic Standards (DFS)

the principles under these regulations are as stated below:

1. Transparency: There should be clear transparency about the procedure of data collection and its uses.

2. Consent: as under the responsibilities of the investigators, the investigator should have proper consent and warrant for the collection of data.

3. Data minimization: They can only collect the necessary data

4. limitation of purpose: The data collected should be only limited to the use of legitimate reasons not for personal benefit.

5. Security: The data collected should be secured and prevented from unauthorized access or destruction.

Digital Evidence and Admissibility

Digital evidence, we exemplify as electronic data that is related to any crime or used as evidence after the analytical investigation which includes emails, text messages, social media posts, photos and videos, computer files, and documents, mobile device data, digital forensic images, IP addresses, online locations as GPS, audio recordings, any call recording, online or cryptocurrency transactions etc.

Admissibility is defined as the process by which information collected in the form of digital evidence is authenticated or not if it can be legally acceptable to present in court or not.

So, these are both termed as digital evidence and admissibility that the data collected for presenting as legal evidence should be well authenticated and legally valid. The requirements of this term are as follows:

1. To identify the correct and relevant digital evidence.

2. To preserve the data collected and safeguard it from any kind of alterations.

3. Analyse the collected data to ensure its integrity.

4. The evidence-handling procedure should be documented properly.

5. Examine or verify the authenticity of the evidence collected.

6. The evidence should be stored securely as they will be used as legal evidence and hence no carelessness can be tolerated in that case.

Digital evidence admissibility can be divided into the following terms:

1. Direct evidence that has a direct link with the crime.

2. Circumstantial evidence, which indirectly relates to the crime yet has a very big impact on the crime performed.

3. Corroborating Evidence, this evidence confirms the other evidence.

4. Exculpatory Evidence, this evidence justifies any suspect and helps the investigation to reach the final verdict.

If digital evidence admissibility is beneficial and quick to move forward the entire investigation procedure, there might be some challenges that are faced by this process of investigation. Such as data tampering, cybercrimes, encryption, jurisdictional issues, lack of standardization, data degradation, expertise requirements, and technology limitations. To cope with all these challenges, we need to do best practices by following established protocols, Documenting everything, using secure storage, conducting regular audits, training personnel, maintaining chain of custody, validating evidence, and using expert testimony.

Cybercrime and Jurisdiction[v]

Those crimes that are committed using any digital medium such as computers, networks, etc are stated as cybercrimes. There are many types of cybercrimes such as hacking, phishing, identity theft, online harassment, cyberstalking, ransomware, data breaches, cyber espionage, online fraud, and money laundering, etc. and the new developing methods in India are AI and ML threats, loT vulnerabilities, Cloud computing security, Cryptocurrency regulation and cybersecurity information sharing.

The challenges that are raised in the jurisdiction of these crimes are as follows:

1. There are no limitations over the geographical boundaries and the nature of these crimes is borderless.

2. Due to identity theft this is close to impossible to identify these fugitives.

3. Due to the borderless nature, it is difficult to regulate these crimes and conflicts arise between the countries due to different rules and regulations.

4. due to insufficient international collaborations for the prevention of these crimes, cooperation seems to be lacking.

5. sometimes it is quite difficult to balance the individual’s privacy with security.

There are many international co-operations been made in the past years to cope with these complex crimes, those are as follows:

1. Budapest convention on cybercrime (2001)

2. council of Europe’s Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (2000).

3. G8 High-Tech Crime Subgroup.

4. Interpol’s Cyber Crime Unit.

In India following are the laws that are specially formed for cybercrime:

1. Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act)

2. Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2008

3. Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 420, 467, 468, 469.

in India, some agencies are specially made for the prevention of cybercrimes:

1. Cyber Crime Cells (CCC)

2. National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal

3. Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In)

4. Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) cybercrime unit.

The punishment for cybercrimes in India is quite justified and termed as Imprisonment for a lifetime or up to life, fines up to Rs. 1 crore, and compensation to the victim because in cybercrimes victims may have chances to lose their entire practical and personal life with seconds, so the compensation for such damages is very needy.

There are many ways through which we can prevent this crime, such as the implementation of robust security measures, conducting regular threat assessments, establishing incident response plans, collaborating with law enforcement, and most importantly staying updated on jurisdictional evolutions. Our legal system is working very hard in this area to quickly solve these newly evolved crimes and to protect the rights of the public. For the security of people, they have also generated helpline numbers specially for cybercrime victims, 1930 (National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal) and 112 (Emergency number).

Artificial Intelligence and Algorithmic Bias[vi]

The use of artificial intelligence in criminal investigation is a very new concept, hence proving very beneficial for detecting these crimes and their convicts. AI is not of one type [vii]but as many versions that can be used in different sectors such as narrow or weak (for example, Siri, google search), general or strong (for example, self-driving cars), Superintelligence (for example, hypothetical AI surpassing human intelligence) If this method has benefits it also has some negative side which we call algorithmic biases, by this term we mean the systematic errors and prejudice in the AI decisions. It happens due to Biased training data, Flawed algorithm design, and Human prejudices. The types of Algorithmic bias are as follows:

1. Data Bias: This training resulted in a biased AI decision. The types of this are sampling bias, selection bias, and confirmation bias and we can exemplify these algorithm biases as facial recognition systems trained predominantly with gender biases and language processing AI trained on texts with gender biases.

2. Algorithmic bias: the imperfect algorithm design resulted in biases. The biases that fall under this category are design bias, implementation bias, and model bias and we can exemplify this as predictive policing algorithms targeting minority neighborhoods and AI-powered recruitment tools favoring male candidates.

3. Human oversight: human biases influence the decisions made by the AI. The types of these biases are implicit bias, explicit bias, and cultural bias. We can exemplify these biases as AI systems reflecting developers’ biases and human reviewers introducing bias into AI decisions.

4. Bandwagon Effect Bias: in this, the result is biased because the AI is following popular trends. The types of this bias are social influence bias and conformity bias. We can exemplify this as AI systems adopting popular algorithms and predictive models following market trends.

Due to algorithm bias, in the investigation, we face such problems as discrimination unfair targeting of some individuals, groups, and minority groups, as well as false identification of innocent persons as convicts which resulted in biased and unfair sentencing. So, to cure this complexity and problem, the steps we need to follow are to do diverse training data, auditing, and testing regularly, review oversight by the experts and there should be more transparency and explainability. Also, some manual research and investigation are needed to catch the algorithm bias.

Future Directions and Recommendations[viii]

The use of technology is increasing day by day in the field of criminal investigation and the investigation can be more integrated with AI and ML, especially in forensic analysis which can easily analyze the evidence, identify patterns, and also predict outcomes, this change can increase the use of technology in the criminal investigation at a vast level. Also, the analysis of DNA and facial recognition will be developed, which can be very helpful in the investigation. There can also be great enhancement in the formation of virtual crime scenes depicting the actual scenario which can be a great success of technology in the investigation and lead it to another level. The security of the data storage will also be enhanced with blockchain technology. These advanced techniques can bring more precautions and challenges which can be dealt with by establishing clear guidelines for AI-generated evidence, and making laws governing AI-powered surveillance, also need to update the handling of digital evidence by creating regulations for AI-assisted investigations, and last we need to ensure the transparency in the process of AI decision-making procedure, these all are recommendations under the legal frame. For the investigation procedure, we need to put compulsion over the training of AI handling for the active investigators so they can handle it precisely. Also, tell them to conduct regular audits to establish quality control over the AI measurements and results because at last it is a manmade creation and can have flaws and need alterations for consistent quality. We also need to ensure that during any investigation with the use of technology, it won't infringe on any person’s rights and privacy, prevent the evidence collected through AI assistance, and establish accountability measures for AI-related errors.

Conclusion

In the verdict, we have concluded that the use of technology in criminal investigation is termed as very beneficial, it has made the complex challenges very easy to examine and can rapidly give the results. Can figure out those things that are nearly impossible for any human to detect or analyze. Technology somehow proved that it is the need for newly evolved crimes such as cybercrime. But it has some flaws too if the auditing is not done regularly it can result in algorithm bias which can be very problematic and it can result in an unjustified sentence to an innocent person to manage it properly and make it beneficial for investigation, we need to check and examine the quality results of the AI and check whether the evidence is authenticated enough to present as the legal evidences for the legal proceedings, if there is any mistake happens while collecting the evince by the investigator then it will be problematic for him and had to underwent the legal actions. Technology is beneficiary when we know how to use it and can manage it precisely otherwise it can make a huge mess which is sometimes not easy to handle.

References

[i]Legal Service India - Law, Lawyers and Legal Resources) <https://www.legalserviceindia.com/legal/article-14328-role-of-technology-in-criminal-investigation.html> accessed 18 September 2024

[ii] Institute M, ‘Evolution of Investigative Techniques: A Journey through History’ (McAfee Institute Insights, 18 May 2023) <https://blog.mcafeeinstitute.com/articles/ancient-sleuths-to-modern-detectives-the-evolution-of-investigation-techniques?hs_amp=true> accessed 18 September 2024

[iii] ‘Home’ (Husson University) <https://www.husson.edu/online/blog/2023/09/technology-in-the-criminal-justice-field> accessed 19 September 2024

[iv] ‘Role of Technology in Preventing Crimes’ (LegalCyfle, 26 August 2024) <https://legalcyfle.in/role-of-technology-in-preventing-crimes/> accessed 19 September 2024

[v] Kapoor V, ‘All about Digital Evidence ’ (iPleaders, 23 February 2024) <https://blog.ipleaders.in/all-about-digital-evidence/> accessed 20 September 2024

[vi] ‘Cybercrime Module 6 Key Issues: Digital Evidence Admissibility’ (:) <https://sherloc.unodc.org/cld/en/education/tertiary/cybercrime/module-6/key-issues/digital-evidence-admissibility.html> accessed 21 September 2024

[vii] Ibm, ‘What Is Ai Bias?’ (IBM, 10 May 2024) <https://www.ibm.com/topics/ai-bias> accessed 21 September 2024

[viii] ‘Home’ (Husson University) <https://www.husson.edu/online/blog/2023/09/technology-in-the-criminal-justice-field> accessed 21 September 2024