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

Term
Definition / explanation
Person sample
A DNA sample taken directly from a person’s body, through a forensic
procedure (being a buccal swab, hair sample or blood sample). By contrast, a
crime scene sample is a sample of biological material obtained from a crime
scene or from the body or clothes of a victim.
Profiler Plus
The system of DNA profiling used by all Australian forensic laboratories.
Responsible person
Senior police officer
order
Serious indictable
offender
SMANZFL
SOCO
SOPs
Suspect
Time out
Trace DNA
The person who is responsible for the care, control and management of the
DNA database. The key responsibilities of this person are to determine who may
access information stored on the DNA database, and to ensure forensic material
is destroyed in accordance with legislative requirements. The Act does not
specify who the responsible person is.
An order made by a police officer of or above the rank of sergeant authorising
a forensic procedure. Senior police officer orders are only available for nonintimate
forensic procedures, where the suspect is an adult who is under arrest.
They are used most often for hair samples from suspects who do not consent to
providing a DNA sample by buccal swab.
A person who has been convicted of an offence carrying a maximum penalty
of five years imprisonment or more. The Ombudsman reported separately on
the DNA sampling of serious indictable offenders – see our August 2004 report,
The Forensic DNA Sampling of Serious Indictable Offenders under Part 7 of the
Crimes (Forensic Procedures) Act 2000.
Senior Managers of Australian and New Zealand Forensic Laboratories. A group
of representatives from forensic science organisations and police in Australia
and New Zealand.
A Scene of Crime Officer. SOCOs are responsible for the collection of crime
scene evidence, such as fingerprints and swabs from crime scenes. They can
be either civilians or police officers.
NSW Police policies, called Standard Operating Procedures. The SOPs
developed by FPIT set out step by step instructions for police officers who
conduct forensic procedures.
A person whom a police officer suspects on reasonable grounds has
committed an offence, who has been charged with an offence, or who has been
summoned to appear before a court in relation to an offence alleged to have
been committed by the person.
Time which does not count towards the two hours police generally have to
conduct a forensic procedure. Time out includes time required to convey a
suspect to a police station or other forensic procedure facility, time reasonably
spent waiting for an investigating police officer or appropriately qualified person
to arrive at the place where the procedure is to be carried out, time reasonably
spent waiting for facilities or equipment to become available, delays to allow
the suspect to seek legal advice or receive medical attention, time waiting for
an interpreter, delays while the suspect recovers from the effects of intoxication,
delays at the suspect’s request and time spent waiting for a judicial officer to
make an order authorising a forensic procedure.
Extremely small amounts of DNA such as the few skin cells that may be left
behind when a person touches something with their hands. It is possible to
obtain DNA profiles from trace levels of DNA found in fingerprints.
NSW Ombudsman
DNA sampling and other forensic procedures conducted on suspects and volunteers under the Crimes (Forensic Procedures) Act 2000 297