KARACHI, Aug 19: With the widespread use of mobile phone technology, the analysis of cellular phone call and short messaging service (SMS) data has become a significant component of police investigation procedures and constitutes an expansion of the traditional methods of cracking cases, Dawn has learnt.
While the old practice of detaining and/or torturing a suspect or members of his family remains part and parcel of police investigation techniques, the analysis of call and SMS details saves time and may provide the missing links in criminal cases, remarked an investigator.
However, obtaining such data is not as easy as it sounds — even for the police. “The police have no authority to obtain phone call or SMS data from the service provider and must navigate a cumbersome and time-consuming process to access the information,” said SSP Investigations East, Abdul Khaliq Shaikh. “Often, the data is received at a very late stage of the investigation.”
Elaborating on the official channels through which call data may be obtained by the police, a well-placed source gave the example of a case concerning the discovery of a dead body. “If it is a blind murder case and the inquiry officer believes that the call data of the deceased may provide a clue, he must submit a written request to his supervisory police officer. The request will be forwarded to the SSP Investigations, who will send it to the DIG of the Crime Investigation Department (CID). The DIG has the authority to submit the request to a colonel of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), who may then order the information from the relevant cellular phone provider,” said the source. “If the case does not have a high profile, the process can take up to several months.”
As a result, investigators often resort to using direct contacts within the cellular phone company in order to obtain the information unofficially. Such an exchange of information takes place in a strictly confidential manner between the contact in the cellular phone company and the investigator.
As the rules currently stand, no police specialized unit, even the CID, has unhindered access to the cellphone or call data of a suspect. The ISI’s monopoly over this resource is such that the call details of even numbers under suspicion cannot be obtained by the police acting on its own authority.
Referring to a recent robbery at the DHA residence of a naval officer, a police officer told Dawn that the robbers made off with the family’s cellphones as well. “The police asked the family not to have the SIMs blocked,” he said. “Luckily, one of the stolen phones was used to make a call from Karachi to somewhere in Rahimyar Khan. By retrieving the call data of the number that was called, the police were able to question the person in Rahimyar Khan about the names and whereabouts of the robbers in Karachi.”
However, some gangs that are involved in the kidnapping for ransom rings have become familiar with this downside of cellular technology and take measures to evade detection by this means, observed SP (SIU) Gul Hameed Samoo. “In order to mislead the police they may, for instance, make the ransom call from Thatta and then leave the district,” he explained.
“The use of call data has become an essential part of the police investigation these days and numerous cases have been solved through the use of call data of cellphones. The analysis of the call data at least gives clues to the investigators to work on,” SSP Investigation South Niaz Ahmed Khosa observed.
Dismal forensic standards
While the retrieval of cellphone data may have improved police investigations to some extent, the standards of forensic techniques such as the collection of fingerprints and the preservation of crime scenes are dismal.
The importance attached by the police to preserving the crime scene is evident from the fact that even the site where Benazir Bhutto was shot on December 27 last year was hosed down. This is in sharp contrast to modern practices of forensic investigation, exemplified in the manner in which foreign forensic experts secured and preserved the crime scene when the US Consulate in Karachi was targeted with bomb attacks in 2002 and 2007.
Similarly, some progress has been made in the use of DNA profiles to identify suspects, as was the case in a high-profile gang rape incident. The samples were sent to Islamabad for analysis, and helped identify the involvement of three suspects. However, this technology cannot be used often or in general cases, since DNA tests come with the expensive price tag of Rs10,000 each.
At the moment, not even the Islamabad police force has its own forensic laboratory where DNA tests can be carried out.
The police in interior Sindh, meanwhile, still depend largely on trackers who are employed on the government’s payroll at the police stations and use footprints to find clues, a senior police officer told Dawn.
Another investigation ‘technique’, used particularly in urban centres, is to tap informers. A number of police officers patronise informers for tips on various cases, and pay them often, if not regularly. Meanwhile, all investigations are initiated with the questioning of crime suspects or those who may have information, and they can be tortured during the course of proceedings. Circumstantial evidence collected from the crime scene or the testimony of eyewitnesses can also provide clues, as can the reports by ballistics experts, chemical examiners and medico-legal experts, which play a crucial role in the investigation. “The prosecution generally fails to connect the criminal with the crime,” observed SSP Khaliq Shaikh. “However, stronger cases could be prepared if more scientific techniques were employed, such as using cellphone or computer-generated data such as emails to gather evidence.”
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