THE SECURITY OF EVIDENCE IN THE CHAIN OF CUSTODY: APPLICATIONS OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN TAMPERING PREVENTION

Abstract

In the pursuit of ensuring the integrity of evidence, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the field of chain of custody has been studied. In the legal field, evidence gains fundamental importance, since it is what guarantees the authorship of a given crime or infraction. Due to this importance, the problem of evidence reliability is discussed in an orderly fashion, which in the case of this study, it is imperative to delve into the area of ​​preserving the chain of custody of evidence in criminal proceedings. The institute entered the scene in the Brazilian legal system through the insertion of articles 158-A to 158-F from Law 13.964 of 2019 (better known as the Anti-Crime Package). Given this scenario, the present study aimed to analyze the effectiveness of Artificial Intelligence as a measure to prevent the security of evidence in the chain of custody. The methodology consisted of a bibliographic review, based on scientific articles, books, periodicals, and current legislation on the respective topic. Data collection was carried out using databases such as Scielo, Google Scholar, among others, from 2020 to 2026. The results concluded that the applications of Artificial Intelligence in preventing chain-of-custody violations represent a significant advance in strengthening legal certainty and the reliability of criminal evidence. When correctly implemented, with normative support and adequate institutional control, these tools contribute to preserving the integrity of evidence, reducing errors, and consolidating a more efficient, transparent criminal justice system aligned with constitutional principles.