Relying on technology to solve an average of 50 homicide cases
every year
□ Our reporter Fan Tianjiao
□ Sun Tianyi, correspondent of this newspaper
Identifying bones, identifying people by listening, simulating portraits... In the Physical Evidence Appraisal Management Office of the Anhui Provincial Public Security Department (hereinafter referred to as the Physical Evidence Appraisal Management Office), these police officers with "unique skills" are good at capturing difficult and complicated crime scenes In the past five years, more than 300 difficult cases have been consulted, and 248 homicide cases have been directly solved by using criminal technology, which has played a key role in the successful detection of a large number of major and difficult cases.
Recently, a reporter from the "Rules of Law Daily" went deep into the public security technical team to learn about their case handling stories.
Technology fusion solves major murders
On March 14, 2021, the police in Huoshan County, Lu'an City, Anhui Province reported to the villagers that they found some human bones wrapped in plastic bags in a remote forest farm 25 kilometers away from Huoshan County.
And just the previous year, parts of people were also found in another river in the county.
Due to the seriousness of the case, the Anhui Provincial Public Security Department immediately assigned the Physical Evidence Appraisal Management Office to form an expert group and rushed to the scene of the crime to carry out inquiries.
Who is the deceased?
Is it the same person?
Finding the source of the corpse has become the key to solving the case.
"We tried to combine the two cases. Since the bodies in both places have been boned and combined with the weathering degree of the packaging, it is inferred that the victim has been dead for about a year and a half." said Chen Lin, deputy director of the Physical Evidence Appraisal Management Office. Since the death time is too long, the autopsy results are only preliminary opinions, and more criminal technical means are needed to support.
After extracting and identifying the biological evidence, the police quickly determined that the two bones belonged to the same person.
"There is a rule of 'disposal of corpses far away and buried near'. Will the source of the corpse be in another place?" With this thought in mind, the DNA laboratory police expanded the scope of data comparison and found that the victim was Henan who disappeared in Hefei in 2020. Nationality female.
The police handling the case conducted an investigation around the victim and found that he had shared a lease with a man in Hefei before his disappearance, and that the bank card still had funds transferred after his death, and the object of the transfer was a deliveryman.
"The deliveryman received 5 transfers that day. After withdrawing money from 3 different bank branches late at night, he rushed to the same community twice." said Lian Chensi, deputy section chief of the audio-visual examination section of the Physical Evidence Identification Management Office.
The criminal technical police acted separately.
The video investigation police was responsible for tracking the activities of the co-rental man Wu Mou, and found that he had taken a taxi from Hefei to Huoshan with two suitcases in December 2019.
Through technical comparison and analysis, the audio-visual inspection police found that the deliveryman was called by a man to run errands on the grounds of buying medicine, and the man was Wu.
At this point, the police judged that Wu was suspected of committing a major crime and arrested him on March 31, 2021.
In the face of a large amount of evidence, Wu Mou's psychological defense line was quickly broken through, and he explained the criminal facts of killing and throwing corpses due to emotional and economic disputes.
"For the rights of the living, the words of the dead" is the work tenet of the technical police of the Physical Evidence Identification Management Office.
In the past five years, the department has accepted 10,500 inspection and appraisal cases and more than 16,000 inspection materials, visited 963 people on various cases (events), consulted more than 300 difficult cases, and issued 1,022 appraisal documents without any errors.
Expanding the battlefield to combat cybercrime
In addition to the traditional crime field, the Physical Evidence Identification Management Office of the Anhui Provincial Public Security Department has also expanded the battlefield to a virtual space.
"The threshold for applying for a health management certificate is low. As long as you buy a course, you can pass the exam and make money lying down!" In April 2021, Xiaoyan, who was working in Hefei, was attracted by this advertisement and contacted the "National Health and Nutrition Examination Center" through WeChat. "Afterwards, according to the other party's guidance, he downloaded the Yuanying Education App and purchased courses online. He didn't agree that he was cheated of more than 20,000 yuan, and immediately called the police.
"Developing an app has high technical requirements. Fraudsters generally do not have such technology. They just build a platform, and the technology to maintain the operation of the platform is realized by purchasing third-party services." Wu Gang, senior director and chief of the document inspection section, said that through data analysis of the app involved, it was found that Li's name appeared when the app purchased services from many companies, and Li had published articles on programming on professional websites. Most likely the technical developer of the app.
At the same time, the police conducted a technical analysis of the fraudulent website and found that the fraud gang used a model of issuing training certificates by self-established associations and pretending to be state agencies to issue certificates to defraud the victims.
The police also combined the clues they had, conducted investigations through technical means, and comprehensively judged that the case involved a criminal gang with a size of 45 to 50 people.
In July of the same year, the police carried out an arrest operation and arrested more than 50 people involved in the case including Li.
Lian Chensi told reporters that after Ou, who directly defrauded Xiaoyan, arrived at the case, he still had a fluke.
Through technical comparison, the police, in the face of conclusive evidence, admitted the crime of defrauding Xiaoyan.
At present, more than 3,000 potential victims have been identified in this case, involving an amount of over 4 million yuan, and 41 criminal cases have been filed.
The case is under further investigation.
"For new types of crimes mainly based on telecommunication and network fraud cases, we have also adjusted our tactics accordingly, using network flow investigation as a breakthrough, promoting the whole chain to support investigation and crackdown, and participating in early warning and countermeasures throughout the whole process." Chen Lin said.
Improve the supporting system and serve the actual combat
The Physical Evidence Appraisal Management Office currently has 34 police officers, who undertake the tasks of on-site investigation, inspection and appraisal, criminal technology scientific research, and planning management of major and difficult cases (events) in the province.
"Our technical team involves seven majors and more than 20 minor majors, and provides comprehensive technical support such as forensics, DNA, audio and video, and video." Chen Lin said that the department has gathered experts in finding all kinds of evidence. It's all "skilled".
For major cases involving gangs, murders and other major cases with extensive social impact, the department has established working mechanisms such as expert support and centralized consultation, established an expert steering group, and opened fast inspection channels for gang-related, homicide, and abduction-related cases. scientific basis.
At the same time, we will explore, establish and continuously improve the working mechanism of on-site classified and classified investigation of criminal cases and the supporting systems such as on-site investigation qualification access, scientifically divide investigation responsibilities, and take the lead in realizing "on-site investigation" in criminal cases. The quality and efficiency are significantly improved.
In response to theft, robbery and other types of financial invasion cases that concern the vital interests of the masses, it has continuously strengthened mechanism guidance and scientific and technological support. For four consecutive years, the use of criminal technology to crack theft and robbery cases ranks among the top in the country.
The division has also made full use of its technical advantages such as DNA and portrait testing to optimize its service mechanism for combating the crime of abducting and trafficking in women and children. In 2021 alone, it will identify 1,345 abducted, separated and abandoned children through technical means, helping more than 1,000 families. Realized the dream of reunion.
In addition, the department took the lead in launching the construction of new technologies and new means such as intelligent voice, and refined a batch of new practical and effective techniques.
In order to solve the difficult problems in actual combat, the Physical Evidence Appraisal Management Office has also actively carried out scientific research. In the past five years, one scientific research project has won the second prize of the National Technology Invention Award, and five projects have won the third prize of the National Patent and Ministry of Public Security Science and Technology Award. Award, 13 scientific research projects have been approved by provincial and ministerial level.
Through the continuous promotion of professional training, martial arts training, and the construction of the "123" talent project, the province's criminal technical teams have been continuously improved in their ability to perform their duties.
From 2016 to 2020, the performance and ranking of the criminal technology work of the public security in Anhui Province has achieved five consecutive championships in the country.