How Chandigarh police plan to use AI to track down criminals

Artificial intelligence is a part of several industries today, making day-to-day work efficient and easy to tackle. From sound production and image generation to medicine, there’s very little it cannot do.

However, what if we tell you that AI can also be a catalyst in fighting crime? Yes, you read right. Chandigarh police seem to have come up with a new way to identify criminal activity and hotspots, and this time, with the help of artificial intelligence.

How AI crime-tracking will work

Chandigarh police have developed a tool and have acquired internet protocol detail records (IPDR), call detail records (CDR), as well as tower dump records (TDR). While the tool is currently in its nascent stage, it will eventually work to help the police force identify suspected movements, hidden networks and criminal hotspots, HT reports.

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It will utilise open-source intelligence (OSINT) capabilities coupled with artificial intelligence-backed analytics to help police identify certain behavioural patterns and suspicious activity. The tool is also built to tackle the increasing use of encrypted platforms and virtual communication tools that are now used by criminals.

One of the key features of the new AI tool will help the Chandigarh police as it will convert the IPDR, CDR and TDR files to a more readable format like XLS or PDF. These formats will eventually help make this data more accessible to officers via devices such as smartphones or laptops.

Additionally, it will identify tower sessions on a map, enabling officers to track suspects in real time. This result will also be based on which mobile tower they are currently connected to.

Apart from this, the AI software will also be able to create visual walk-throughs, mapping a suspected criminal’s activity from one location to another. This feature will in turn be helpful in retracing steps or recreating the scene of crime. If this reminds you of the Tom Cruise-starrer Minority Report, you’re not alone!

Lastly, the software plans to support investigations by resolving web traffic that is end-to-end encrypted. These would include those using an Onion (TOR) browser or VPN networks, that are often used to conceal malicious online activity.

Further, it will monitor Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and scrutinise data from across 30 platforms, including WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal. This particular feature will help cops uncover names, contact details and mobile numbers of activities conducted across the internet.

How does artificial intelligence make this possible?

With AI and machine learning, the software can go over communication patterns and predict suspicious behaviour. It can work to flag and identify potential threats and even detect anomalies in voice or messaging apps. The software can go over data from financial transactions, social media movements and call logs to discover hidden networks, which otherwise require several other additional steps.

Apart from communication details, the software is also equipped to retrieve vehicle ownership details and perform searches based on Aadhar data. It can then consolidate data in readable formats and allow officers to go over specific events and activities by applying only a filter.

The tool is currently proposed as a tender and will require a round of technical evaluation before it is approved for use. However, employing AI to help quickly identify and resolve crime could be one of its many first steps in contributing to the greater good.