The Jindal Global Law School (JGLS) organised a webinar on new technology and artificial intelligence in crime investigations, and career prospects in the field of Criminology and Criminal Justice on 7th May, 2022. Prof. Poulomi Bhadra, Assistant Professor, Assistant Dean (International Collaborations) & Assistant Director (CCFS); and Dr. Upneet Lalli, Deputy Director, Institute of Correctional Administration were the esteemed speakers for the webinar. The session was moderated by Virangna Dhillon, Lecturer, O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU). The webinar was full of fruitful discussions regarding AI and Crime.
Prof. Poulomi Bhadra brought into light the various advantages of Artificial Intelligence during the investigation process, like its potential to evolve and adapt to the changing and evolving crimes through machine learning and its benefits in Direct forensic analysis including fingerprinting and gunshot analysis.
AI is often referred to as a Multi-agent as it is equivalent to several manual power and is cheaper than trained personnel. AI technology plays a very beneficial role in facial recognition, as it can look through social media, or through CCTV cameras and make a detailed profile which will include the different hair styles a person might have had, the changes in their appearance due to age, and even account for any injuries, etc.
The objective of using AI is to analyze and correlate the data contained in the evidences of an investigation and present the most relevant evidence to the human examiner, thus reducing the amount of data to be analyzed.
Further two fascinating case studies were discussed: The Stockwell Shooting and the Brandon Mayfield case regarding pattern recognition. These studies highlighted the drawbacks of relying completely on AI and emphasized the importance of a person to verify that the computer has read the information properly and has arrived at the correct conclusion.
In conclusion, there are innumerable benefits of using AI technology and a growing need to rely on such technologies, however, there need to be checks and balances where a human being can verify the results arrived at by the AI. Cognitive reasoning is very essential to make sure no wrong decisions are made.
Dr. Upneet Lalli highlighted the use of new technology inside prisons with some captivating examples from all over the globe. Such technology is used for suicide prevention, keeping a check on illegal business, etc.
She then highlighted the role of social media in today’s crime. Social media can be used as a catalyst for criminal activities, with gangsters having social media accounts and more than 2 lakh followers, but can also have a positive impact through services such as E-filing of FIRs and circulation of live information through platforms such as twitter, Facebook etc.
This increase in the access to information helps the investigative bodies in identifying the offenders. It bridges the communication gap within the people and the investigators, and increases transparency.
There is a pressing need to amend the legislation regarding the use of AI technology as currently it is insufficient. Technologies such as facial recognition give rise to privacy and discrimination concerns as citizens are being surveilled and recorded around the clock. Questions regarding the storage and use of this data collected need to be answered.
AI is also used as a preventative tool where it analyses people’s actions and assigns them a risk score. This risk score can be used to reduce the crime rate, within and outside prisons.
Crime prevention is one of the foremost reasons for the use of AI in the Criminal Justice System, through monitoring and risk assessment. AI is used to detect traffic accidents through CCTV surveillance, and online-related crimes including human trafficking, money laundering, fraud, and sexual abuse.
