Technological Development in Criminal Investigations and Law

In the 21st century, development in the scientific arena has been manifold. As jurist Roscoe pound once Propounded that law must evolve with the changes of the society. With The introduction of technology in the society it has led to more complex crimes being committed which are more difficult to trace, so in today's scenario it is of paramount importance that law must cope with the technological advancements. It is a well acknowledged fact that India has one of the lowest police to population ratios in the world. In addition to this, the poor conviction rates of serious crimes which solicits for more corroborative evidences, better coordination among the law enforcement agencies and preserving the sanctity of evidences, so lack of manpower coupled with adoption of obsolete techniques during investigation puts the entire criminal investigation process in a serious jeopardy. Therefore, the need of the hour is for a holistic integration of forensic and technological inputs in the course of an investigation of a criminal offence. In furtherance to this, the concept of DNA finger printing or profiling has gained unprecedented significance. With the lower house of the parliament passing the DNA Technology (Use and Application) Regulation Bill, which provides for regulated use of DNA for establishing the identity of persons in criminal investigations and specified civil matters it is equally important to put emphasis on various statutory and constitutional safeguards which are being guaranteed to an accused of an offence, irrespective of the nature of his act. Critics of this concept have always flagged the privacy aspect of the accused. Moreover, ways need to find out how to converge two seemingly divergent concepts i.e. protecting the privacy of a potential Criminal and at the same time ensuring a fair and effective investigation on the part of the victim.