Context:
More than a year after the Criminal Procedure Identification Act was passed by Parliament, the Centre is all set to roll out “DNA and face-matching” systems at 1,300 police stations across the country.
Criminal Procedure (Identification) Act, 2022:
- It provides legal sanction to the police to take physical and biological samples of convicts as well as those accused of crimes.
- Data that can be collected – Finger-impressions, Palm-Print impressions, Footprint impressions, Photographs, Iris and Retina scan, Physical, Biological samples and their analysis, Behavioural Attributes including signatures, Handwriting or any other examination
- Any person convicted, arrested or detained under any preventive detention law will be required to provide “measurements” to a police officer or a prison official.
- Nodal Agency – National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
- The records can be stored up to a period of 75 years.
What is DNA Sampling?
- DNA sampling refers to the collection and analysis of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) samples from individuals.
- DNA/Genetic tests are performed on a sample of blood, hair, skin, amniotic fluid (the fluid that surrounds a fetus during pregnancy), or other tissue.
- Uses –
- Forensic DNA Sampling: In criminal investigations, DNA sampling plays a crucial role in identifying suspects and linking them to crime scenes.
- DNA Profiling: It involves analyzing specific regions of the DNA sequence that exhibit variations between individuals, known as polymorphic regions or genetic markers.
- Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR): PCR is a technique used to amplify specific DNA regions in the collected samples.
- Short Tandem Repeat (STR) Analysis: It involves identifying and comparing the lengths of short repeated sequences of DNA at specific loci.
- DNA Database Comparison: Once the DNA profile is obtained, it can be compared to profiles stored in DNA databases.
- Paternity Testing: DNA sampling is also used in paternity testing to determine biological relationships between individuals.
Click here to read about Metagenomics
About Facial Recognition Technology (FRT):
- It essentially maps, analyses and confirms the identity of a face in a photograph or video.
- It uses computer-generated filters to transform images into numerical expressions that can be compared.
- Key parameters – Distance between the eyes and that from forehead to chin.
- Automated Facial Recognition System (AFRS): Large database containing photos and videos of peoples’ faces is used to match and identify the person.
- Image of an unidentified person (CCTV footage) is compared to the existing database using Artificial Intelligence technology, for pattern-finding and matching.
- Applications –
- Submission of Digital Life Certificate (Jeevan Pramaan) by pensioners (1:1 verification)
- Tracing missing children by the Delhi police (1: n identification)
- Matching of criminals
Source: The Hindu
Previous Year Question
Consider the following actions:
1. Detection of car crash/collision which results in the deployment of airbags almost instantaneously.
2. Detection of accidental free fall of a laptop towards the ground which results in the immediate turning off of the hard drive
3. Detection of the tit of smartphone which results in the rotation of display between portrait and landscape mode
In how many of the above action is the function of accelerometer required?
[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2023 Prelims]
(a) Only one
(b) Only two
(c) All three
(d) None
Answer: (c)
