Outsmarted by criminals

In this day and age, the importance of technological tools in busting white-collar crime cannot be over-emphasised. Our police and other civilian investigative agencies, however, have been singularly sluggish in catching up with the advances in the way crime is fought around the world. They are particularly hobbled by a lack of wherewithal to harness the full potential of smarter techniques deployed to quell crime. Amid this depressing scenario, it is heartening to learn that the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has decided to help equip the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) with the means to keep a watchful eye on high-profile terrorists, smugglers and other felons. According to a news report in this paper, the project is also designed to enhance the FIA’s ability to bolster its checks on border areas.



As well as providing the agency with a bunch of computers, the UNODC is said to have given the FIA a crime-fighting software called i2, which is billed to provide fraud investigation solutions. With a history of successful use in other countries, the i2 software is likely to help the FIA trace the culprits involved in heinous crimes, such as terrorism, human trafficking and narcotics smuggling. The UN agency has provided these computer systems for a model project of digitalisation of records to the Punjab chapter of the FIA, while a similar scheme is in store for the investigation agency’s branches in other provinces as well.

Given the dire security situation in the country, the initiative could not have come at a more opportune time. The nation wants its security services and investigative outfits armed to the teeth and equipped enough to rise to the challenge posed by the peculiar circumstances it finds itself in. Hardened criminals are known to use modern gadgetry to hide their crimes and dodge their pursuers. It is only fitting that the state apparatus outfoxes these outlaws with sharper instruments and superior technology. We need to build an agile and innovative force capable of nabbing the evil geniuses by getting the better of them. We hope that full advantage is taken of the project, so that it bears results soon.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 10^th,  2014.

Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.