[ad_1]
A Garda investigation of nearly 4,500 felony-related DNA samples that were forcibly “lost” has now identified all but 489 samples.
Of those, Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said there were 234 people in whom the force does not withhold samples.
He said there was a “small risk” that those people had been involved in other crimes.
When appearing before the Police Authority on Wednesday, Mr. Harris was asked if there was a risk that court cases would be affected by the problem.
He replied: “Indeed, you are talking about 234 people of whom we have no samples.
“If they have not become suspects in an investigation in some other way, through other evidence or intelligence, then there is a risk that those 234 may have committed crimes for which we have an unidentified DNA sample inside the labs. forensic science.
“That is a risk.
“I think it is a small risk, since DNA is rarely the only method of detection.
“There are all other means of crime detection that are open to it.
“Although the risk exists, it is very difficult to quantify.
“I think that in a database of more than 46,000 samples in this period, it is a small risk.”
The issue first came to light in February 2019, when around 2,000 samples were reported missing from a database dedicated to solving felony crimes.
The Garda Commissioner ordered an audit, which was delivered to the Police Authority and GSOC at the end of September this year.
It identified 4446 Sample Reference Numbers (SRNs) that had been registered by Gardai but were not reported by Forensic Science Ireland (FSI) as required.
“If you look at the period that we are looking at between November 15 and April 19, just over 46,000 sample reference numbers have been created,” Harris said.
“Of that, there were almost 4,500 in which those SRNs did not match a DNA sample.
“That was the subject of the subsequent investigation.”
IT system
He added: “That number has been reduced through the examination and follow-up of these matters to 489.
Deputy Commissioner John O’Driscoll, who coordinated the investigation, said that further analysis had identified 34 cases where a sample was missing and one person had not been prosecuted.
He added: “We are going to analyze those cases to see what the importance of the DNA sample was in the individual case.
“When the exercise is complete, we may have that analysis with respect to all the cases involved.”
Harris said that many of the problems could be due to the fact that Gardai was operating on a paper-based system and that they are in the process of moving to an IT system.
“Somehow I have to say, when we relied on a paper-based bureaucracy, it was always at risk, along with all the other systems that we were involved in that were also paper-based.
“The research management system that we are putting in place should address many of these issues.”
Dr. Moling Ryan of the Police Authority said the report had expressed concern that there had been “an inadequate appreciation by the organization as to the importance of DNA samples” and “a lack of care and attention due to them. samples “.
[ad_2]