Tech experts help solve complex crimes

After finding success using in-house computer technicians to crack financial crimes, Beijing's prosecuting authority is enlisting specialists in multiple fields to aid investigations in complex cases.

A database of experts, including some at third-party institutes, is being created for prosecutors to use when they need help in obtaining and verifying evidence, according to Wang Ta, an attorney for the Beijing People's Procuratorate.

The move comes after the authority launched an informal pilot last year that saw some employees in its IT department switch from fixing broken computers and installing new software to helping probe a criminal suspect's digital activities.

"These technicians became our assistants. Their professional data analysis now helps us collect and verify evidence more accurately and solve cases more efficiently," Wang said on Wednesday, when the procuratorate released a report on efforts to combat the rise in financial crime.

Beijing prosecutors filed 820 indictments (up 4.3 percent year-on-year) and prosecuted 1,480 people (up 20 percent) last year for financial crimes, such as illegal fundraising, the report said.

"As we witnessed the increase, we found some cases too complicated to collect evidence, or it was hard to verify whether the digital evidence had been falsified," Wang said, adding that this is where the IT technicians can play a role.

For example, he said, six technicians helped prosecutors in Dongcheng district review 189 pieces of digital material and provided them with 11 suggestions as the procuratorate investigated an illegal fundraising case involving a large sum of money last year.

"Their advice clearly told us what evidence should be further collected," he said.

Now, the authority has established a database of experts to help bring indictments effectively and accurately across a broad range of cases.

"We've invited professionals from Peking University, Tsinghua University and China University of Political Science and Law to our think tank for when we meet difficulties in handling cases," he said.

Such think tanks are encouraged to extend help to more district-level procuratorates across the city, he added.

The report issued on Wednesday also said that cases in which people made use of the internet to commit fraud, including credit card fraud and crimes relating to invisible currencies, were more frequent last year.

Jiang Shuzhen, another prosecutor from the top procuratorate, said financial risks, especially those brought by new types of businesses, should be minimized by the government's stricter supervision and stronger legislation.

Information exchanges should be also be increased between financial regulators and judicial authorities, she said.