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DNA techniques used for criminal investigation
DNA techniques used for criminal investigation
DNA techniques used for criminal investigation
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“On September 20th, 1986 a young woman was killed and, left behind at the scene, was a piece of DNA that investigators hoped would help solve the case” (Biemesderfer). There was no way to identify people yet. Nowadays, you can identify whose footprint it is by investigators and
The Department of Justice says, "States began passing laws requiring offenders convicted of certain offenses to provide DNA samples. " That DNA evidence can help convict someone of a crime and it helps to uncover more things about the crime itself. Investigators have been using forensic science to help them solve cases since before the 90 's, mostly fingerprints that were found at the crime scenes and on the victims (O 'Brien). DNA evidence has solved countless cases including ones that happened over a prolonged period of time because of the technological advancements there is
The leader of this group, named Deirdre, said that scanning extra objects for DNA is important, ”When I talked to DNA experts that they were saying, ‘Yeah, I mean, if you swab that and get some skin cells or saliva and it’s just random, you get no hit on anybody, well then it neither here nor there.’ But they were saying, ‘but if put it in and you get a hit on a serial killer… well now you got enough to charge and convict somebody.’ So what you call relevant and irrelevant you can only do once you have a test result” (111). Deirdre likes to test anything that could possibly lead them to another suspect in the crime. Not everyone in the detective business is, however, not like her.
DNA profiling was first established in 1985, and has seen extensive use in the field of forensic science and genomics. DNA profiling was developed in 1984 by Alec Jeffreys, after he noticed that certain sequences of highly variable DNA, which were non-coding, were repeated within genes (McKie, 2009). He recognised that each individual has a unique pattern of non-coding DNA sequences therefore allowing them to be profiled. The process has helped the police in solving crime cases over the years, as every individual’s DNA is unique to their characteristics, forensic scientists can use the DNA at a crime scene to identify the victims, reduce the number of wrongful arrests, increase the reliability of evidence, and provide information at crime scenes where there are no witnesses. The purpose of the investigation is to analyse whether newborn infants should have their DNA profiled and stored in a database at birth.
The swabs and photographs becomes evidence, which is collected and preserved in a sexual assault evidence kit, commonly referred to as a rape kit. “When the rape kit is tested, the DNA evidence contained inside can be an incredibly powerful tool to solve and prevent crime” (End the backlog). “The DNA inside the rape kit can help identify an unknown assailant and confirm the presence of a known suspect” (Hansen, 2011). It
In the lab report three students are tested along with one suspect. Student number two’s DNA matched the suspects DNA. The student’s DNA’s are cut with five different enzymes as well as the suspects DNA. Student two’s DNA matched exactly with the suspects DNA; the other two student’s DNA did not resemble the suspects DNA at all. (Choi, et al, 2008) DNA fingerprinting is used a lot in determining who committed a crime.
According to the Australian Law Reform Commission, “A match between the crime scene profile and a defendant’s profile does not prove that the defendant committed the particular offence.” This error however is close to always due to human error. Also according to the Australian Law Reform Commission, “It has been suggested that sample mishandling, mislabelling or contamination is more likely to compromise a DNA analysis than an error in the analysis. Contamination may occur at any stage of the collection, transport or analysis of a DNA sample.” This form of error can be easily prevented by better training the professionals.
In King, Justice Kennedy referred to the invention of DNA technology as “one of the most significant scientific advancements of our era.” This statement has been criticized, but the impact of DNA technology has been significant. Currently, forensic analysts can use “junk” DNA to identify a person with near certainty. Law enforcement can collect a person’s DNA through saliva. The sample is then uploaded to CODIS, a national network of DNA databases.
Murders that are left unsolved leaves family members puzzled and wondering. It is important that we solve murders so we can stop the victim from doing it again. I already know a bit about DNA evidence from my KWL chart crime research, but I would need to learn more about its specific application in cold cases. In my preliminary research, I learned that DNA has helped solve many cold cases over the years. There have been cases where decades-old evidence was retested with updated technology and resulted in identifying the victimizer.
Technology is more prominent than ever, so it is necessary to draw the line between its usefulness and its potential violation of privacy. Much like fingerprinting, DNA profiling is a useful way to identify criminals and their victims; however, DNA profiling has proven much more useful and accurate. The genetic information that is found in DNA can be obtained through a number of specimens such as hair, saliva, and blood. Given a sample, current technology can decrypt genetic information and store it in a database to be accessed by law enforcement authorities for criminal justice. The FBI was given the power to establish a National DNA Index System (NDIS) when Congress passed the DNA Identification Act in 1994.
In forensics it is not always a guarantee to find DNA at a crime scene and if there is DNA it will only go so far so with biotechnology the DNA sample can be copied using the polymerase chain reaction which targets specific sections of the DNA to copy. The copies
It would be in situations where there suspect confesses to the crime so they feel there is no need to waste money and time waiting for the DNA tests to come back. Which is a little
This could be fatal because then a person could be wrongly convicted of a crime or even let free if he committed the crime and who knows if he won’t do it again? ● The equipment used in forensic testing can be very expensive and will cost a lot of money. ● Misleading or false DNA can easily be placed at the crime scene. As a result the wrong person will be arrested and the people who actually committed is still running around free. ● The DNA information is on a computer and can be vulnerable to exploitation from hackers.
It is based on extremely sensitive PCR techniques. Using DNA evidence suspects can be linked to crime scenes from as little as the skin cells on a steering wheel or saliva on a cigarette butt. DNA based forensic methods are much more efficient than the conventional methods because of so many obvious reasons. Cases could be solved even investigations begun after decades by analyzing DNA from degraded samples. Moreover, it is possible to deduce phylogenetic/evolutionary relations through DNA based forensic methods.
DNA in forensic science The majority of cells making up the human body are diploid cells carrying identical DNA, with the exception of haploid gametes and red blood cells. Several types of biological evidence such as blood and hair are commonly used in forensic science, which is the scientific study of evidence for crime scene investigations and other legal matters. Forensic science is used for the purpose of DNA analysis, this is the analysis of DNA samples to determine if it came from a particular individual. DNA analysis is done by obtaining DNA samples from an individual; next, a large sample of DNA is produced from amplified selected sequences from the DNA collected.
