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

analysis must be relevant to the offence being investigated, or whether the person’s alleged criminality of itself
is enough to warrant taking a sample, for the investigation of other (possibly future) criminal offences.
• Size, scope and projected growth of the database – some databases have millions of profiles on them,
while others are much smaller. Some databases are regional, some are national, and some are international.
Many databases have been rapidly populated through the mass sampling of convicted offenders. There has
also been a trend towards expanding the types of offences for which DNA samples can be taken, with many
jurisdictions now taking DNA in relation to high volume property offences, like burglary and car theft, as well as
for serious offences such as murder and sexual assault. 175 Whether a database continues to expand rapidly
may depend on whether suspect samples are retained on the database indefinitely, or are routinely deleted (for
example, where a suspect is not ultimately convicted of the offence for which the sample was taken). It is likely
that the number of crime scene profiles on databases will continue to expand rapidly.
• Retention of genetic data – some systems retain the DNA sample (i.e. the biological material itself), while
others retain the DNA profile derived from the sample, and destroy the sample. Most jurisdictions retain DNA
profiles of convicted offenders indefinitely, and provide for the destruction of profiles taken from suspects who
are ultimately acquitted. Others retain all DNA profiles – whether from convicted offenders, suspects or merely
people who have been arrested – on the database indefinitely.
• Administration of the database – whether it is by the government, a private company, or a combination. For
example, in New South Wales the DNA database is wholly government owned and funded. The laboratory is
part of NSW Health. In some places, the database is maintained by the government and private companies
are contracted to provide some forensic services (for example, routine DNA analysis). Elsewhere, the database
is hosted by a government owned but independent research institute. Others are publicly funded but are
otherwise fully privatised.
Some database hosts have their own websites and Annual Reports, and regularly publish statistics on the number of
profiles on the database, the percentage of crime scene samples which are linked to profiles already on the database,
DNA ‘success stories’, contamination incidents and advances in technology. Other database hosts are less visible,
attracting attention only when, for example, problems with funding or backlogs are made public.
We have looked at a selection of other jurisdictions, whose DNA sampling regimes differ significantly from our own.
3.4.1. United Kingdom
The United Kingdom was the first country to establish a national DNA database, in 1995. In 2000, the government
allocated £182 million to the DNA Expansion Programme, with the aim of collecting DNA samples from all active
offenders over a four year period. It also aimed to increase the retrieval of biological material left by offenders in
relation to high volume property crime, such as burglary and car theft, rather than limiting DNA profiling to serious
crime. A further £58.8 million was allocated for the 2004/2005 financial year and funding is expected to continue, “to
ensure that the database remains fully populated with the DNA profiles of all possible offenders coming to police
attention.” 176 The database is now the largest of its kind, holding over 3 million DNA profiles taken directly from
people, and approximately 250,000 profiles derived from biological material obtained from unsolved crime scenes. 177
Police powers to take DNA have increased over recent years, and are now extremely broad. Since 2004, police have
had the power to take a DNA sample, without consent, from any person “in police detention in consequence of his
arrest for a recordable offence” (generally, an offence which carries a penalty of imprisonment). 178 DNA can be taken
upon arrest “whether or not the sample is required for the investigation of an offence in which the person is suspected
of being involved.” 179 Samples can also be taken from anyone suspected of, charged with, convicted of or cautioned
in relation to a recordable offence. 180
Case Study 01
In 1999, police took a DNA sample from a man arrested on a drink driving charge. The man’s DNA profile was
put on the national database. His profile linked him to the sexual assault and murder of a teenage boy in 1968.
The man pleaded guilty to the offence and was sentenced to life imprisonment. 181
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NSW Ombudsman
DNA sampling and other forensic procedures conducted on suspects and volunteers under the Crimes (Forensic Procedures) Act 2000