Delhi Police adopts blockchain tech to record chain of custody of evidence.

The e-forensic application of the Delhi Forensic Science Laboratory (DFSL) and the Delhi Police will now use blockchain technology to create an unchangeable and transparent record of the chain of custody for evidence, making DFSL the first institution of its kind in the country to use this technology, lieutenant governor VK Saxena announced.

 The Delhi Police has already trained at least 1,500 personnel to operate this new technology, and more than 3,000 forensic samples are being processed and analysed using it, according to officers' familiar with the matter. Blockchain technology is a system of storing and transferring information in a chain of blocks, with each block containing data, such as, in this case, forensic records, case records, images or logs. All the information is encrypted with cryptography, which prevents fraud and hacking. The data is decentralised because it is not stored in one place but on many computers, making it harder to tamper with the information. Due to these reasons, blockchain technology is considered secure and transparent.

The criminal justice system has several steps, the first of which is a crime being reported. The next step is police registering a case and visiting the crime scene. Then, the forensic team visits and collects evidence and samples from the scene and deposits them. The next step is assigning a QR code to the sample. After that, a messenger takes custody of the evidence and brings it to a lab. Next, a scientist takes charge of the evidence and prepares the forensic report. The report is then submitted to the police.

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Source: Internet