NCJ Number
218409
Journal
Law and Order Volume: 55 Issue: 4 Dated: April 2007 Pages: 95-99
Date Published
April 2007
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This article discusses the future of DNA identification and presents some challenges to obtaining accurate DNA data results.
Abstract
Researchers from Germany, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States are engaged in ongoing research that would allow DNA evidence to provide information about suspect height, weight, hair color, eye color, skin pigmentation, and other characteristics. While this seems like science fiction, this type of DNA analysis may be only 5 to 10 years away. The author explains that each person carries their own DNA database that stores all the information about our personal characteristics. Once scientists learn how to interpret each piece of DNA evidence, a whole new world of identification will open up for law enforcement, security, and medical purposes. Current DNA analysis, which began in the mid-1980s, is good for identifying suspects if his or her DNA is already in the DNA database CODIS. To help with first time offenders or suspects who are not in the CODIS, a number of companies have developed DNA analysis tools such as DNAPrint, which can determine an individual’s eye or iris color. Similarly, DNAWitness was developed to provide information about the ancestry of an individual from his or her DNA sample. The author notes that while these DNA analysis techniques are helpful, they are useless unless DNA evidence is collected and stored properly. Various training courses for crime scene investigators on how to collect and preserve DNA evidence are identified. Exhibits