The Star: December 07, 2023

The Star Thursday December 7 2023
10
NEWS
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
Call to halt cold-case DNA tool trial
• By Sam Sherwood and
Jared Savage
THE PRIVACY Commissioner
has asked police to pause future
use of a controversial DNA
tool being trialled to solve two
cold-case murders until there is
legislative reform.
Police are trialling the genetic
investigative tool for two of the
country’s most high-profile cold
cases – the murder of Mellory
Manning Christchurch in 2008
and the murder of Alicia O’Reilly
in Auckland 1980.
Law enforcement agencies
overseas have had success
comparing the DNA of
unidentified suspects with
genetic profiles uploaded to
popular genealogy websites,
most famously leading the FBI to
catch the so-called “Golden State
Killer”.
Forensic Investigative
Genetic Genealogy (FIGG)
combines DNA testing with
genealogical research to analyse
genetic relationships between
individuals who share very small
amounts of inherited DNA with
the crime scene DNA sample.
It uses genealogy databases and
publicly available records and is
being utilised overseas to help
solve cold cases and identify
human remains.
To meet New Zealand
conditions, the Institute of
Environmental Science Research
ensured all physical sample
testing was completed in New
Zealand and the extraction of
the digital genetic code would
be provided to a third-party
international service provider.
This meant no physical DNA
material would leave the country.
In an email to then Justice
Minister Ginny Andersen
on September 5, Privacy
Commissioner Michael Webster
outlined his concerns about the
trial.
A review by the Law
Commission, published in
November 2020, found the
Criminal Investigations (Bodily
Samples) Act was “no longer
fit for purpose”. It made 193
recommendations for change.
Given the significant privacy
concerns around turning
users of ancestry websites into
unwitting “genetic informants”
against their relatives, the Law
Commission said any new
legislation needs appropriate
safeguards for police to use
genetic genealogy. To date, no
progress has been made on
changing the law.
Webster said he was
“supportive” of the safe use of
emerging techniques to assist
police investigations if it was
JUSTICE: Mellory Manning,
who was murdered in
Christchurch in 2008, and
Nancye O’Reilly with a
portrait of her daughter
Alicia O’Reilly who was
killed in Auckland in 1980.
“justified and proportionate”.
However, he had concerns
about the use of FIGG without
an “appropriate legislative
framework in place”.
“In my view, the best course
of action would be to pause the
use of FIGG beyond this trial
until there is legislative reform in
this area. Genetic data is highly
sensitive personal information,
not only for individuals, but also
for their whānau.
“FIGG can be useful to create
investigative leads. However, it is
a technique that raises a number
of ethical and privacy issues.”
Webster said he had previously
discussed with police any
trial should be aligned as
much as possible with the
recommendations in the Law
Commission’s report.
“I would be very
concerned if this trial were to
lead to use of FIGG generally
before appropriate legislative
safeguards are put in place,” he
said.
“I am conscious of the
precedent-setting effect of the
trial and the risk of extending
the use of FIGG against the Law
Commission’s recommendations
and the advice of my office.”
In a briefing to Andersen
about the commissioner’s
concerns, police wrote that while
the Government had agreed a
new act was required, this would
require “considerable work”
and its priority had yet to be
confirmed.
“Legislative reform is often
a lengthy process and police
considers that there is a balance
to be struck between using new
and emerging techniques to aid
with serious crime resolution
and waiting for legislative reform
processes to be undertaken.”
An evaluation at the end of
the trial would be undertaken
to assess the effectiveness
of the pilot for future police
investigations.
–NZ Herald
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