Crimes (Forensic Procedures) Act 2000 - NSW Ombudsman - NSW ...

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Recommendation
Police inform volunteers who provide DNA samples that their DNA profile will
be stored on the DNA database but will only be matched within the particular
case, and will not be matched against anything else on the database, unless the
volunteer indicates that he or she agrees to his or her DNA profile to be used for
unlimited purposes.
The Crimes (Forensic Procedures) Act 2000 be amended to require police to
provide information about forensic procedures to child suspects and volunteers,
and develop plain English versions of this information for children of different ages
in consultation with the Commission for Children and Young People.
The Crimes (Forensic Procedures) Act 2000 be amended to require police to
provide information about forensic procedures to incapable persons, and develop
plain English versions of this information suitable to persons with an intellectual
disability in consultation with the Intellectual Disability Rights Service.
Police consider informing suspects who have been taken into detention after
arrest, and who are likely to undergo a forensic procedure, that police may wish
to conduct a forensic procedure on the person, such as a DNA sample, and that
this information be provided when police give suspects their summary of the
provisions of Part 9 of the Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act
2002.
The Crimes (Forensic Procedures) Act 2000 be amended so that:
a. Police officers are required to give volunteers and suspects who are not
under arrest a period of notice, specified in the Act or Regulation, before
asking them to provide a DNA sample.
b. Police need not wait until the end of the notice period to take the DNA
sample, if the suspect or volunteer has expressly and voluntarily waived his
or her right to the period of notice.
The forensic procedure SOPs include guidelines on identifying and
communicating with incapable people. These guidelines should be established in
consultation with the Guardianship Tribunal and disability advocates and should
cover the information and factors to be considered in assessing a suspect or
volunteer’s capacity.
NSW Police provide further training and guidance to police officers on the practical
and legal considerations in dealing with ‘incapable persons’ under the Crimes
(Forensic Procedures) Act 2000.
The Crimes (Forensic Procedures) Act 2000 be amended so that a senior
police officer order can authorise a suspect to provide a DNA sample by selfadministered
buccal swab.
The form used for recording senior police officer orders be amended so that the
senior police officer who makes an order authorising a forensic procedure can
record their reasons for believing the suspect committed an offence, the grounds
on which the officer believes the procedure might produce evidence tending to
confirm or disprove that the suspect committed the offence, and the reasons why
carrying out of the procedure without consent is justified in all the circumstances.
The amended form should also include information about any submissions
received from the suspect, their legal representative or interview friend. Any
amended form for senior police officer orders should also be included in the
proposed forensic processes book.
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6.1.4
6.1.5
6.1.6
6.2.4
6.2.5
7.2.3.3
7.2.3.3
7.2.8
7.3.3
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NSW Ombudsman
DNA sampling and other forensic procedures conducted on suspects and volunteers under the Crimes (Forensic Procedures) Act 2000