‘CLUE’LESS POLICE

There are 102 police stations across the city, supported by just two Clues Teams -- one each for the Commissionerates. Proposals to form 28 Clues Teams in all, as a way to strengthen overall crime detection, have been gathering dust. With NCRB statistics suggesting that only 25% of crime cases were solved in 2012, the big question is: why are the police smug despite being ‘clueless’ on something that underpins maintenance of law and order

Members of the Clues Team take more than two to three hours to arrive at the scene of crime. It is possible that by the time they arrive crucial pieces of evidence might be lost, either by design or default. It is usually the Law and Order team that arrives at the scene first. The city has two police commissionerates, Hyderabad and Cyberabad; and each commissionerate has a Clues Team each

When the city expands so does crime. Every day we come across media reports of a number of crimes that are committed in the city. Statistics provided by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) for 2012 suggest that only 25 % of the crime cases were solved in our country.

It is mandatory for personnel of the Clues Team to rush to the scene of all major crimes and look for tell-tale clues that could prove ultimately to the clinching piece of evidence in achieving breakthrough in a sensational case. Alas! With just 2 Clues Teams for the entire city, the department has to just grin and bear it when it comes to picking up clues for solving crimes.

Considering the fact there is a multiplicity of crimes, including those happening at the same time, it has become a real challenge to members of the Clues Team to make it to a scene of offence well before the disturbance or destruction of crucial pieces of evidence or clues regarding the commission of crimes.

Members of the Clues Team take more than two to three hours to arrive at the scene of crime. It is possible that by the time they arrive crucial pieces of evidence might be lost, either by design or default. It is usually the Law and Order team that arrives at the scene first. The city has two police commissionerates, Hyderabad and Cyberabad; and each commissionerate has a Clues Team each.

There are five zones and 63 police stations in the Hyderabad Commissionerate, while the Cyberabad Commissionerate has 5 zones and 39 police stations. A few years ago there was a proposal to increase the number of Clues Teams. Among the proposals, one was to increase the Clues Team to 28 (One under each ACP -- 17 for Hyderabad and 11 for Cyberabad), but it never saw the light of day. Departmental sources say that the Clues Teams have been using 13-year-old equipment. Sceptics are questioning the rationale of allowing the police to use outdated techniques in fighting crime that is growing and evolving.

When contacted by Hyderabad Hans, Sandeep Shandilya, Addl. Commissioner of Police (crimes and special investigative team), who also supervises the Clues Team, shared, “the responsibility of the Clues Team is only to visit the crime scene and hunt for clues. But all police personnel from the Law and Order department are also trained to deal with similar situation. In the right context, the role of the Clues Team in the crime scene is marginal. The number of teams (two) satisfies the needs of investigation; the law and order cell and the zonal police force contribute more towards investigation.

Talking about the age-old equipment used by the Clues Team, the senior police official said, “There is no problem with the equipment. In fact we do not use technologically advanced mechanisms. Clues Team personnel have a magnifying mirror and a few simple aids. The scene in Hyderabad or anywhere in India is not the same as in the US, where a cigarette butt can trace out a person’s DNA. We are technologically very backward. The only reason why Obama’s security personnel carry his tooth brush and every accessory used by him, is because in today’s era another Obama can be even cloned.”