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

Objects on which only small amounts of DNA are present may require a number of resamples of the original
item or retesting of the extracted DNA before a successful DNA profile is obtained. This may take many weeks
or months. Further, the DNA profile that is obtained is often difficult to interpret because it contains evidence of
DNA from more than two people or DNA at the lowest levels of reportability. 979
Other factors impacting on the length of time taken to process a sample include the number of items submitted for
analysis, the time frame over which police deliver these, the caseload of the reporting biologist and the priority given
to the case. 980 DAL also routinely reviews some of its cases as part of the quality checks required for its accreditation.
Serious cases are generally given priority, but these may also take months or even years to complete, given that DAL
is more likely to continue testing in an attempt to obtain a profile which is good enough to use in court. DAL advised,
in words to the following effect:
They do drag out, for example the murder samples take about a year or so. Police want more and more work
– for instance you can tell police a result within a couple of weeks, so police have a suspect, but they may want
more evidence. It really is a question of how much evidence they want. It can be difficult, there can be a pivotal
item. For example, there was one matter where the sample was tested 24 times before we got a result, and even
then it wasn’t really good enough. 981
Less serious cases tend to fall into two groups – those which are easy to process and are of high probative value,
which are turned around quickly, and those which are complex or are of low probative value, which are not prioritised
and take a very long time to be turned around, if they are processed at all. 982
Case Study 73
A 19 year old man charged with murder spent 10 months in custody while police waited to obtain the results
of DNA analysis from DAL. The committal hearing could not be held until police served the brief of evidence,
including the DNA analysis results, on the suspect’s legal representative. The magistrate criticised DAL for
not giving the case priority. DAL spent considerable time trying to obtain a useable profile from the crime
scene evidence, without success. In the end the man was committed to trial and found guilty on the other
evidence. 983
10.7.2. Effect of delays on police investigations
During our review, we surveyed each of the 80 police local area commands about various aspects of the forensic
procedures legislation. One issue we asked about was the length of time DNA analysis takes and the impact this
may have on the way the command manages investigations. Many responses expressed frustration about delays,
especially in relation to high volume offences. They indicated that turnaround times for serious offences were
generally better, provided that individual police officers actively pursued the matter with DAL. Commands expressed
concerns about:
The length of time taken to obtain analysis results: 984
‘Delays always inhibit the effectiveness to address crime issues promptly... In many instances, investigations
cannot progress while awaiting forensic examination of samples. Cold links often come years after the crime,
by which time the offender has possibly served a sentence for crimes committed around the time of the
identified offence.’
‘It would appear that matters are rated on a priority basis as such, many matters result in lengthy delays, for
example multiple BES [break, enter and steal] offences, as there are constantly more serious matters arising
that take priority.’
‘Volume crime samples take up to 12 months to be returned. Usually the suspect is in custody for other
offences by that time. By the time the hit comes back and the suspect arrested for the first response, follow
up inquiries are required even though the suspect is in custody. Hits are still being received for up to months
after. Victims have trouble remembering details of offence if BES [break, enter and steal] etc.’
NSW Ombudsman
DNA sampling and other forensic procedures conducted on suspects and volunteers under the Crimes (Forensic Procedures) Act 2000 203