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

After completing these checks, DAL staff register the case, sign and date the police form, and put barcodes on the
form. If the exhibits were hand delivered, a copy of the form is also given to the submitting officer.
In 2004, FSG conducted a review of all casework being submitted to DAL. This included reviewing the documentation
accompanying crime scene samples submitted. The review found that one in five cases submitted had significant
errors or omissions in the accompanying paperwork. 927 FSG has recommended changes to the submission form, so
that it has to be completed electronically, in full, on the FSG intranet site, before the relevant items will be accepted. 928
10.3.9. Tracking crime scene samples at DAL
DAL currently barcodes all exhibits on receipt, and is able to track their progress through the laboratory. Exhibits
are linked to investigations through the relevant COPS Event number. While this is generally sufficient, if a COPS
number has been incorrectly transcribed by the submitting police officer, or is difficult to read, DAL staff may have
considerable difficulty locating the exhibit at a later date. This problem is exacerbated by the length of time between
an exhibit being received at DAL and its examination, and also by the lack of storage space at the laboratory.
As discussed later in this report, at 12.2.2.2, FSG proposes to introduce a barcoding system, which would
presumably be used in the screening, storage and analysis of exhibits. If this were introduced, it would make it easier
for DAL to track exhibits awaiting analysis. NSW Police has advised it is consulting with DAL on the use of barcoding
for all exhibits and tracking of cases and samples within the laboratory.
10.3.10. Storage of firearms at DAL
DAL keeps exhibits awaiting analysis in boxes in a large storeroom. There are no separate procedures for storing
firearms; they are kept in boxes along with all the other crime scene exhibits. We are concerned that this is not safe,
and in addition may breach DAL’s legislative obligations under the Firearms Act 1996. Having raised this matter with
DAL, DAL has agreed with the proposal to store firearms in a safe. 929
Recommendation 61
DAL reviews its processes for storing firearms and takes all reasonable precautions to ensure they are kept
safely, in accordance the Firearms Act 1996.
NSW Health supports this recommendation and advised that DAL is purchasing a suitable firearms cabinet to be
installed in July 2006. 930
10.4. Permitted matching
Part 11 of the Act deals with the DNA database system. The DNA database contains the following indexes:
• crime scene index
• missing persons index
• offenders index
• suspects index
• unknown deceased person’s index
• volunteers (limited purposes) index, and
• volunteers (unlimited purposes) index.
The New South Wales DNA database also contains a statistical index. DNA profiles derived through forensic
procedures or from crime scenes are stored on the relevant index of the DNA database. Section 93 of the Act
specifies the circumstances in which DNA profiles can be matched against others on the database. In our
investigation of DAL, we examined the laboratory’s compliance with the legislative provisions for permissible
matching.
NSW Ombudsman
DNA sampling and other forensic procedures conducted on suspects and volunteers under the Crimes (Forensic Procedures) Act 2000 189