Lowest quality Crime Scene Investigation

Recently I had come across a news item regarding catching of a car thief in Finland. There was a car stolen in Finland in June which was later found abandoned close to the spot from where it was stolen. Police in their investigation of the crime scene (the car in this case) have found a mosquito  in the car. They have extracted a DNA sample from a sample of  blood found inside the mosquito. They checked the DNA  sample against the DNA samples on their database and found a match and caught the car thief. I was simply amazed at the attention to detail of these Finnish police and the quality of their Crime Scene Investigation.

Compare that with the police work of our Indian police. The Crime Scene Investigation that takes place in our country is easily among the lowest quality in the world. I think more than 95% of our police personnel do not even have the basic training in crime scene handling. Higher ranked police officers that have this training in Crime Scene Investigation never are the first people to reach the crime scene. In fact IPS officers and other higher ranked officers hardly ever visit a crime scene. In any case, by the time the higher ranked police officers visit a crime scene, it is already hopelessly contaminated. There is not any meaningful awareness in the lower ranked police personnel as to the basics of how to protect a crime scene from contamination. That is the main difference between our Police and the Police in the developed countries. I hope one day, the powers that be, recognize this major shortcoming in our Indian police work and train the first responders in crime scene handling and protection.