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In recent years, there have been several new methods of using DNA in criminal cases, and in several countries the methods are working well.
In 2018, for example, former police officer Joseph James DeAngelo was revealed as “The Golden State Killer,” who is behind a string of murders and rapes in California in the 1970s and ’80s.
The police then used DNA from crime scenes to search the database of a private genealogy company. There they found relatives of DeAngelo, and that’s how they managed to locate him.
Another example is the 2004 double murder in Linköping in Sweden. Last year, the perpetrator was identified thanks to DNA searches in genealogical databases.
Search private company databases
There are several companies that sell DNA tests to individuals. Then you send a saliva sample and then these companies do an analysis of the genetic material.
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According to Truls Petersen, vice president of the Biotechnology Council, tens of millions of people around the world have undergone these tests. However, not all companies allow the police to use their databases.
See the full interview at the top of the case!
– It all depends on the company you buy the test from. The private market for genetic testing is fairly new and unregulated, so it is up to each individual company, Petersen tells Good Morning Norway.
However, he emphasizes that the police in Norway are currently not allowed to search private databases like this one in their investigation.
She never experienced that the serial killer was caught.
Family members can expose you
Another method is to search for relatives in the police register. The police compile the DNA profiles of the convicts in an identification registry. If they find DNA at a crime scene, they can check to see if it matches any of the profiles in the registry.
The Norwegian police only receive hits in the registry if the DNA is a complete match, that is, if it is the same perpetrator. While in several other countries, including Sweden, the police are also beaten in partial matches, which in turn may indicate that the perpetrator is related to a previous convict.
NEW TECHNOLOGY: Several new DNA methods can help law enforcement in unsolved criminal cases. Photo: Good morning Norway
Ghost drawing based on your genes
A third method is the use of genetic testing to find out what a possible perpetrator looks like. It is the genes that determine what traits we have.
“We have known a lot about which genes cause disease, but now we have discovered which parts of genes determine different parts of appearance,” explains Truls Petersen.
In other words, DNA traces from the crime scene can be used to find out what type of skin color, hair color, and eye color the perpetrator has.
– And then it is investigated how to determine the shape of the face, the earlobes, the freckles, the shape of the chin and the nose. So potentially you can make a ghost drawing without any witnesses, Petersen continues.
Kripos: – I wish we could use the methods
Turid Haugen Thor, a specialist in the DNA section and missing from Kripos, says he would also like Norway to be able to use the new DNA methods in connection with the police investigation. However, it emphasizes that it is important to implement good routines and guidelines before it is allowed.
– We see that the methods give results in other countries, he tells Good Morning Norway.
IMPORTANT TOOL: Kripos wants to use the new DNA methods, but it is not currently allowed in Norway. Photo: Good morning Norway
Since 1991, there have been 32 unsolved murder cases in Norway, and it is in the most serious cases where the new methods might have been relevant.
– There is a way to go in those cases where everything else has been tried, where it may be completely stuck, so you can take the investigation a little further, says Thor.
He also notes that the methods could have been relevant in relation to so-called unsolved cases.
Therefore, it is not allowed yet.
According to Truls Petersen of the Biotechnology Council, there are several reasons why new DNA methods are not currently allowed in Norway.
– One is that the development of technology is so fast, so these problems and opportunities have come a bit suddenly, explains Petersen.
– And then there is the fact that DNA is very sensitive information. The genetic material of each of us is unique and can say a lot.
Petersen further says that the Biotechnology Council has reviewed these issues and made some recommendations. But the law and the privacy issue still need to be uploaded.
