Criminal Justice and Technology: DNA

by 

Tabetha Cooper

In criminal cases, DNA is an effective and accurate evidentiary tool that aids in conclusively convicting the guilty or freeing the innocent.  The art of DNA analysis originated in the 1980's and has since become a routine part of all investigations.  

Micah's DNA (Photo credit: micahb37)

Since DNA analysis has aided in solving so many cases, it is now mandatory for convicted person to submit a DNA sample for future comparison.  Since this endeavor has become successful it is now being debated as to whether a person arrest but not yet convicted should be made to submit a DNA sample.  After the sample has been collected it is stored in a database called CODIS where it can be run among other DNA samples found at past crime scenes and stored for use in impending investigations.  This wonderful scientific discovery and its wide spread use has raised ethical questions regarding privacy when comes to mandating the not yet convicted to submit a sample of their DNA.  Upon understanding what DNA is, its use, and hearing arguments on both sides of this issue, I am sure that you will find mandating arrestee’s to submit a DNA sampling to a useful procedure.   

            Deoxyribonucleic acid or DNA is the molecule that represents a person's unique genetic makeup.  It can be found in any cell with a nucleus and is the same within each cell of a person's body.  It has four identifying bases that are sequenced individually for each person (except for identical twins).  The bases are Cytosine (C), Guanine (G), Thymine (T), and Adenine (A).  In 1985, Dr. Alec Jefferys explained how these bases repeat in unique sequences to each individual and how based on these sequences a person paternity, or in the field of criminal justice, involvement in a crime could be determined based upon these sequences. (www.dna.gov)

DNA (Photo credit: Gravitywave)

            In an investigation, evidence is collected in an attempt to identify the perpetrator of the crime.  Among this evidence can be any number of DNA containing cells.  DNA can be found in hair, bone, teeth, fingernails, blood, semen, urine, feces, 

sweat, saliva, mucus membranes, skin cells, muscles, organs, and brain cells.  As it can easily be seen, with the vast array of places DNA can be found, it is quite impossible to do anything in life and not leave a least a trace amount of it behind.  When DNA tested first started in the 1980's it took a large amount of it to get a profile but with the advances in technology within the last twenty-five years all it takes is a very minute amount to get a conclusive DNA profile.  After DNA evidence has been analysis it is compared to known suspect samples in a case.  If there are no known samples it is ran through a DNA database called Combined DNA Index Systems or CODIS.  There, the sample can be compared to known offenders as well as to other crimes that may have the same DNA evidence, linking the two crimes.  CODIS is used in many different jurisdictions from local, state, to federal agencies.  In the event that no match is immediately made an automatic search will be done weekly.  If a DNA match is made during that search, the results will be sent to the agency that submitted the DNA sample for comparison. (www.dna.gov)

English: tSMS DNA sample sequencing: image templates and cleave (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

            Because of the success with DNA evidence, both in convicting guilty perpetrators and exonerating the innocent who have been sitting in prison for years, most states require that offenders submit a DNA sample upon conviction.  According to Berson (2009), courts have continued to uphold the ruling that a convicted person should have to submit a DNA sample.  She goes on to explain that the controversy has now targeted arrestees who have not yet been convicted of a crime.  DNA is collected from an offender by taking a swab from the inner cheeks of an offender's mouth.  It has been debated about whether this is ethical and even constitutional when an offender hasn’t even been convicted of a crime by a jury of his peers.  After all isn’t he still protected by the Bill of Rights?

  DNA can determine more than merely if a person perpetrated or at the very least was at the scene of a crime.  DNA can be used to establish paternity and be used for a number of other medically related things.  Due to the ability to determine these other things it raises the question of intrusion upon privacy.  It can be argued that mandatory DNA samples go against the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights.  The Fourth Amendment guarantees the protection of privacy of person and possessions against unreasonable searches and seizures and the Fifth Amendment against self-incrimination and the privacy of personal information. (topics.law.cornell.edu).

CODIS (Combined DNA Index System) logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

On the other hand, as Berson (2009) states, DNA sampling is the same as fingerprinting.  When a suspect has been arrest it is part of the booking procedure to fingerprint him.  If he is later found innocent he has the option of asking for his fingerprints to be taken off the books.  If mandatory DNA sampling was part of the booking process and the suspect was later found guilty he could then ask for the fingerprint and the DNA sample to be removed from the records.  Privacy is an issue because so much information can be received from a DNA sample.  Medical records could be breached.  Most crime laboratories are not concerned with nor equipped to gain medical information.  There is no personal information in regards to physical attributes when DNA results are entered into a database.

With the success that has come from mandating convicted offenders to enter their DNA, a person could only infer that mandating arrestee’s to submit a sample of their DNA would only bring that more results.  With a complete understanding of what DNA is and how it can be used most people have to agree that the more samples that we can compare DNA evidence to the more criminals we can get off the street.  This will make our communities a safer place for future generations.  DNA is a biometric feature as with a fingerprint, it can link a particular person to a particular crime due to the characteristics that make 

it individual to each person.  The difference with DNA evidence is that it can be done more conclusively and with less room for error.

References

Berson, Sarah B. (2009) Debating DNA Collection. Retrieved May 12, 2010, from

http://www.genome.duke.edu/education/seminars/journal-club/documents/Berson2009.pdf  

Foster, R.E. (2000). Police Technology. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall

http://www.dna.gov/basics/

http://www.dna.gov/basics/analysishistory/

http://www.dna.gov/basics/biology/

http://www.dna.gov/dna-databases/

http://www.dna.gov/dna-databases/codis

http://topics.law.cornell.edu/constitution/billofrights

           

           

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Homicide Investigations

by Tabetha Cooper

Birmingham Homicides - Jan-Apr 2006 (Photo credit: Dystopos)

Criminal investigationis slightly different when dealing with homicide cases.  An investigator has extra steps to take during their investigation.  It also helps if an investigator knows how the body of a victim can provide evidence and what the importance of a modus operandi is when looking for the perpetratorof the homicide.  They also have to know about the different types of homicide and how each one is determined.  They need to be able to differentiate between a homicide and a suicide as well.

In any criminal investigation, according to both Osterburg & Ward (2007) and the Nationa

Modus operandi (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

l Medicolegal Review Panel (1999), an investigator must determine if a crime has been committed and what all is part of the crime scene.  After this has been determined, the crime scene needs to be sectioned off for the sake of its preservation.  Chain of custody needs to be established and then documentation, photographs, and a complete evaluation of the crime scene needs to be conducted.  After the scene has been evaluated everything determined to be evidence needs to be collected, inventoried, and preserved.  Any witnesses at the crime scene need to be interviewed.  All the investigative techniques for investigating any crime are the same but other measures need to be taken when dealing with a homicide.  When an investigator gets to the crime scene they need to make sure that the victim is indeed deceased.  After that has been determined, and with help from the medical examiner, the cause of death needs to be established if possible at the crime scene so that investigators can go ahead and look for the murder weapon.  The body needs to be photographed and all injuries need to be 

Skulls on a Beach: "Currents carry many dead things to Punuk Island making it the graveyard of the Bering Sea." (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

documented.  The victim needs to be identified in order to gather information to figure out a motive for their homicide and so that notification of death can be given to the family.

The first thing that an investigator needs to do when they go to a crime scene, where there is a death, is determine if the death was from natural causes, suicide, or a homicide.  A suicide is a death that a person has inflicted on themselves, whereas a homicide is a death inflicted by another person.  When a death is suspected to be suicide information on the victim needs to be gather that can point to that conclusion.  According to the National Institute of Mental Health, the leading causes of suicide are “depression, alcohol/substance abuse, or a major stressful event.”  In light of that information an investigator should look for a history or mental illness, a stressful event, or signs that the victim was using drugs or alcohol on a regular basis.  In a suicide the murder weapon or if it was a case of a drug over dose the bottle of medication or drug paraphernalia should be close to the body. 

            If all signs of the death points to homicide the investigator needs to determine which type of homicide it was.  There are two types, murder which is a premeditated unlawful taking of another’s life or manslaughter which is the unlawful taking of another’s life without the intent to cause death (Osterburg & Ward, 2007, p. 351).  For example, a woman finds out that her husband has been cheating on her with someone she knows.  She takes a knife from her home and enters the other woman’s home illegally and kills her, then disposes of her body in a shallow grave that she had dug earlier that day.  That would be classified as murder because the wife clearly planned to kill and dispose of the body of the other woman.  On the other hand, take a man walking home from work when a teenager decides to rob and beat him.  He sees a pipe lying beside the sidewalk and picks it up to help defend himself.  He swings the pipe in an attempt to get knock the teenager away from him and accidently hits him in the head, killing him.  That would be manslaughter because he never intended to kill the boy; he was just doing whatever he could to get the teenager to leave him alone

. 

US Army CID crime scene investigator (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

            When collecting evidence it is vital for the crime scene investigator to get details from the body of the victim.  The National Institute of Justice (2009), says that an examination of the body can give unbiased information about the “victim’s physical attributes, his/her relationship to the scene, and possible cause, manner, and circumstances of death.”  Examination of the body can also lead to the discovery of blood and other bodily fluids that can give investigators a DNA sample that can be compared to suspects, in hopes of making a positive identification of the perpetrator.  A medical examiner can determine if the body was relocated after death.  This lets investigators know if there is another crime scene that needs to be found and examined, which could give them additional leads.  If the information from the victim’s body can’t lead investigators to a suspect, it can help them to establish a modus operandi (a perpetrators particular means and method to commit a crime) and possibly link the homicide to others in and around the area.  Although, Douglas and Munn (1992) warns that too much stock should not be put into the modus operandi alone.  A criminal’s modus operandi may change over time as certain aspects of the crime don’t go the way it was planned or after the perpetrator has been caught.  They can change their methods to exclude the things that got them caught and include things that will make the crime easier to commit.  In the event that a modus operandi can link a homicide to another within another jurisdiction, it may be possible for departments to share information with each other that may assist with gaining leads.

            When an investigator can conduct an investigation with the proper techniques, know how to differentiate between a homicide and suicide, can recognize the evidentiary value of the body, and utilize the modus operandi, they are well on their way to becoming very successful. Knowing all the right investigative techniques for a murder does not ensure that an investigator will catch a murderer but following all the guidelines does make the prospect of catching the killer much more likely. 

References

Douglas, J.E & Munn, C.. (1992) FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, February 1992. Retrieved February 23,

2010, from http://www.criminalprofiling.ch/violent-crime.html

National Institute of Justice. (2009) A Guide to Death Scene Investigation: Documenting and Evaluating

The Body | National Institute of Justice. Retrieved February 23, 2010, from

 http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/topics/law-enforcement/crime-scene-guides/death-

investigation/document-body.htm

National Institute of Mental Health. (2009) NIMH · Suicide in the U.S.: Statistics and Prevention.

Retrieved February 23, 2010, from http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/suicide-in-the-

us-statistics-and-prevention/index.shtml

National Medicolegal Review Panel. (1999) Death Investigation:  A guide for the Scene Investigator.

Retrieved February 23, 2010, from http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles/167568.pdf

Osterburg, J.W. & Ward, R.H. (2007) Criminal Investigation: A Method for Reconstructing         the Past (5^th Ed.) Newark, NJ. Mathew Bender & Company, Inc.

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Today’s Investigative Special Report – January 14, 2013 “Dealing With Todays Law Enforcement Specialized Investigations” “The “Fingerprints” Of A Child Sexual Assault Investigation”

By Lawrence W. Daly, MSc

Forensic Expert – Senior Author

In 1992 Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld created The Innocence Project which is a non-profit

CRIME SCENE DO NOT CROSS / @CSI?cafe (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 legal organization that is committed to exonerating wrongly convicted people through the use of DNA testing, and to reforming the criminal justice system to prevent future injustice. To Date, the Innocent Project has freed 301 wrongfully convicted people, including 18 who spent time on death row. (Wikipedia, 2012)

Like DNA, fingerprints play a very important role in finding if an individual committed a crime. The system needs to examine, evaluate, and analyze just how important fingerprints are to ascertaining the truth. When performing an investigation DNA and fingerprints parallel and corroborate law enforcements findings.

Like the characteristics of a fingerprint there are many aspects of a child sexual assault investigation (CSAI) which parallels it. In fact, there are at least twelve characteristics which will be discussed today which may provide you some insight into the world of science. Let us call them “Daly’s Twelve Investigative Characteristics to Finding the Truth.”

Daly’s Twelve Investigative Characteristics are as follows:

1.      Development – There are four stages of development which parallel a fingerprint. Once identified the officer or crime scene technician (CST) will need to develop the fingerprint by using dusting powder, other methods, techniques, chemicals, and etc.

2.      Registration – Once the fingerprint is identified either it is a partial or an entire hand print, the fingerprint is registered into the Automated Fingerprint Index System (AFIS). In sexual assault cases if the perpetrator is found guilty, he will be required by law to register as a sexual offender.

3.      Crime Scene – Fingerprints are found at a crime scene and are identified by an officer or CST. The investigation of what happened at the crime scene and locating a fingerprint at the crime scene go hand in hand.

4.      Processing – In any CSAI the crime scene is processed, the investigation goes through a development process, and etc.

5.      Identification – Who the individual was who left the fingerprint can be identified if his fingerprints are found in the National AFIS. Once the individual is identified as being the perpetrator who committed the sexual assault his fingerprints will be processed and put into AFIS.

6.      Ridge Units – There are several types of ridges in a fingerprint. In a CSAI there will be many ridge units in the investigation in which the District Detective will have to deal with throughout the investigation.

7.      Classifying – The fingerprint is classified as having certain characteristics. This is what makes the fingerprint useful in a court of law because no one has the same fingerprints. In the CSAI the type of sex crime which is classified as being a molestation, sexual assault, or a rape will become important as the law enforcement officer will need to prove this aspect of the case to prove that a crime was committed.

8.      Medical – The fingerprint can be medically removed from a dead body to identify who he is. In CSAI there is a medical examination the child victim will need to submit to and be processed through.

9.      Difference – Since there are no two fingerprint alike there are also no two sexual assault investigations which will be the same.

10.  Impressions – Sometimes a fingerprint which was left at the crime scene will have specific impressions if the surface of where the fingerprints were left. In CSAI the credibility, reliability and backgrounds of the child victim, witnesses, and perpetrator will be important in what impression the District Detective will be able to uncover about each one of them.

11.  Hidden – There are fingerprints which are defined as Latent Fingerprints which means the fingerprint is sometimes not capable of being seen by the human eye. In CSAI the crimes are hidden behind a closed door.

12.  Detection – A trained CST can locate and detect if a fingerprint is present. When the child begins to act differently or tells her mother or father what the perpetrator did to her, the crime is detected, and the development of the CSAI begins.

Today the need to first explain and understand what characteristics of the CSAI will be the first characteristic which is “Development” which is where the complaint is made that a child was sexual assaulted and law enforcement is called and responds to where the complaint is being made and begins the CSAI.

Development

In the development stage of the initial complaint of a child sexual assault, there are many tasks the first responding officer and other officers will be responsible to perform. There are several stages which can be identified during the development phase:

Initial Stages of Development

1.      First Responder investigates the initial allegations

2.      First Responder requests assistance to establish a perimeter inside and outside the residence/building/vehicle. Makes perimeter large enough to protect potential evidence, including vehicles

3.      First Responder determines two extremely important issues 1. The safety and protection of the child 2. If there is probable cause to arrest the alleged perpetrator

4.      First Responder contacts his immediate supervisor and details the case information to him.

5.      First Responder receives authority to call the Sergeant from the Special Assault Unit (SAU) to relay the incident/event information and to request he send at least two detectives to the scene

6.      Once the two detectives arrive at the crime scene, the First Responder who had been in charge of the crime scene, witnesses, child victim and perpetrator relinquishes his responsibilities to the District Detective

Second Stages of Development

1.      Two detectives respond to crime scene. Upon arrival the First Responder relinquishes the crime scene to the District Detective. The Assisting Detective will provide assistance in all areas of the initial follow-up investigation

2.      District Detective contacts radio and requests a crime scene technician(s) to respond to process the crime scene

3.      The District Detective should create a detailed initial investigative plan, sometimes referred to as a Case Action Plan (CAP), discussing the CAP with the Assisting Detective.

a.       This process should be created ‘mentally’ as the District Detective is responding to the crime scene

4.      Once constructed the District Detective will make assignments to the Assisting Detective, Crime Scene Technicians (CST), and the First Responder and other officers who can remain on the scene and assist

Third Stages of Development

1.      District Detective will contact the complainant and perform the child interview

2.      Assisting Detective will assign officer's on the scene to assist in gathering all of the witnesses for identification and interviews

3.      CST will need to establish if the crime scene perimeter established by First Responder and assisting Officer's is sufficient for the protection of the identification and collection of evidence

4.      CST’s will divide who will do what investigative aspects of processing the crime scene

5.      One of the first responding units stays with the perpetrator if he is at the crime scene. He is either released or taken to jail for processing

Fourth Stages of Development

1.      District Detective collects all witness statements and receives information from the lead CST what the findings of processing the crime scene were

2.      District Detective collects all officer's statement in reference to their investigative responsibility at the crime scene

3.      District Detective makes contact at the jail with the perpetrator or has the perpetrator come in to be interrogated by him

4.      District Detective has any and all evidence taken to the State Crime Laboratory for analyzation

5.      District Detective will perform any investigative step necessary to prove if the crime did or didn't occur

6.      District Detective provides Deputy Prosecutor with either an update on the investigation or provides him with the investigative file for the consideration of filing criminal charges

There are eleven more characteristics of a CSAI to examine and understand how they are parallel or similar to the many characteristic of the fingerprint and the information about the two of them. As I explore these parallels and similarities take the time to contemplate and critically think about the methodology which is being utilized to perform investigative functions which may prove that a crime was or wasn’t committed.

 

Lawrence W. Daly

www.onedaly.com

206-650-0229

onedaly@onedaly.com

Kent, WA

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