This manual tells cops how to build strong cases

The manual printed earlier this week will be sent to all 93 police stations and the 12 Crime Branch units in the city. It will be a guide to investigating officers,Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Himanshu Roy said.

“The manual includes all types of offences,” he said.

Crime Branch sources said it also had tips on evidence collection and preserving a crime scene before forensic experts arrive.

“The manual is comprehensive. Sections on preserving crime scenes have also been included so that officers responding to a call of murder and other offences know what to do in such situations. There are times when small clues left behind are ignored. We want our personnel to know how to look for those small clues,” said an officer.

The officer said the manual also prescribed ways to answer crime calls.

“The manual has a section on what to do when you reach a crime scene and what precautions to take,” he said.

The Bombay High Court had observed in August that the use of outdated technology could be hampering the progress of investigations. While hearing the case pertaining to the death confirmation of two cab drivers who had gang-raped and murdered a BPO employee from Pune in 2007,a division bench of Justices V M Kanade and P D Kode said one of the reasons for the rate of conviction going down was the use of old technology. The court pointed out that there was a need for a centralised fingerprint database of criminals to improve the quality of investigation.

Maharashtra has a dismal conviction rate of 8.5 per cent.