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

Case Study 91
In 2004, a lorry driver was killed after a brick thrown from a bridge went through his windscreen. A DNA profile
obtained from the brick did not match any profiles already on the DNA database. However, a close match
suggested that a person already on the database was a relative of the offender. Police used this information
to locate a suspect. The suspect provided a DNA sample, and his profile matched the profile obtained from
the brick. A police representative commented, ‘There is no doubt in my mind that without this groundbreaking
technique and the Forensic Science Service, this crime would have remained undetected.’ 1301
The FSS does not routinely conduct familial searching. It only uses the technique where warranted by the
circumstances of the individual case. 1302
There have also been developments in identifying suspects through the Y Chromosome, which is handed down along
the paternal line, and Mitochondrial DNA, which is handed down along the maternal line. 1303
16.1.3. Predicting an offender’s appearance or ethnic background
Another area of development is the use of DNA evidence from crime scenes to predict the offender’s physical
appearance, or ethnic background. These may be of use to investigators where there is no physical description of the
offender.
Ethnic inference testing enables scientists to predict an offender’s ethnic background, from DNA left at a crime scene.
The FSS explains:
Gene pools for different populations are believed to have arisen from a single gene pool that originated in Africa
and subsequently diverged geographically. Some DNA sequences never left Africa and so a larger gene pool
remained. Over time, differences in the sequences arose within isolated populations. The sequences present
and their frequencies therefore represent the ancestral gene pools of different races. British Afro-Caribbeans for
example, display a greater number of differences and so are more easily discriminated. Using such sequences,
the probability of a person’s ethnicity can be calculated by comparing their profile with a relevant database of
locus sequences and their frequency for different ethnic groups. 1304
In the UK, the different groups used in ethnic inference testing are white-skinned European, Afro-Caribbean, Indian
Subcontinent, South East Asian and Middle Eastern. 1305
Case Study 92
Ethnic inference testing is being used in the United Kingdom in an attempt to determine the ethnic background
of an offender who is believed to be responsible for at least 84 offences, including rape and indecent assault.
There is no useful physical description of the offender, who reportedly wears a balaclava and a black catsuit.
Without fingerprints or a physical description, police have concentrated on the DNA evidence found at some
of the crime scenes. DNA analysis suggested the offender has Caribbean ancestry. The ancestry profile,
combined with other intelligence, enabled investigating police to narrow a list of potential suspects from 21,000
to 1,000. Police have since gone to the Caribbean to collect samples from volunteer police officers in five
countries, in an attempt to narrow down the offender’s ancestry to a specific location within the Caribbean. The
investigation is ongoing. 1306
There is currently research being done into predicting other physical characteristics. The FSS is exploring the
prediction of hair colour, and has developed a test which reportedly detects 84 per cent of redheads. 1307 A company
in the United States, DNAPrint, offers a test to predict eye colour. 1308 We are not aware of any investigations where
these techniques have been used to identify a suspect.
In 2005, the Victorian Police Forensic Science Service Centre received a grant to test DNAPrint’s eye colour testing
package, so this technique may be used in future in Australia. 1309
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NSW Ombudsman
DNA sampling and other forensic procedures conducted on suspects and volunteers under the Crimes (Forensic Procedures) Act 2000