Bad Blood

By now, if you have been reading my posts, like a good (and patient) reader, then you should know all about CoDIS. But for everyone else, CoDIS is a network of DNA databanks that house DNA profiles. These profiles come from convicted offenders, crime scene evidence, unidentified human remains, and several other sources. These profiles are regularly searched and shared across state lines in attempts at solving unsolved crimes. It can provide a lead on a cold case (called a “hit”), or simply confirm the identity of a suspect the police have already apprehended. But, a new wrinkle has developed in the search methodology.

“Familial” searching is a technique (that I have written about before) where a crime scene profile is deliberately run through the offender databank in the hopes of getting a list of profiles that are genetically similar to the evidence and using this information as an investigative lead to interview family members of the near matches. This type of searching is based on the fact that relatives have more similarities in their DNA than do non-relatives. Siblings have the most similar DNA, while a parent and child are close behind.




Currently the FBI does not perform these types of searches, but it doesn’t seem out of the question for the future. The UK is already utilizing this technique and has had some success. It was used in Cardiff, Wales in 2003 to solve a 1988 murder of a 16 year old girl named Lynette White. Analysts identified a single rare allele within the DNA profile typed from the crime scene evidence. The UK National DNA Database searched for individuals with the identified rare allele and it led to a 14-year-old boy with a similar overall DNA profile. Further investigation led police to the boy’s paternal uncle, Jeffrey Gafoor. Jeffrey Gafoor’s DNA profile matched the profile from the crime scene evidence. He confessed and was later convicted of the murder of Lynette White.

There are, however, some privacy issues. One of the most popular criticisms include statements such as, “I shouldn’t be considered a suspect in a case just because my brother or cousin is a felon.” It’s being perceived as an involuntary intrusion.

But, whether is an infringement on my rights or not, you gotta admit, it’s pretty amazing.