Offender Database Research Articles

Families and Forensic DNA Profiles

Law enforcement officials often turn to DNA identification methods to detect--and rule out--possible offenders. Every state operates its own database of convicted offenders' DNA profiles; some states store profiles of arrested people, too. The Federal Bureau of Investigation maintains a national database of profiles submitted by laboratories across the country. A few years ago, officials came up with a new way to use DNA profiles in forensic identification. Ordinary searches require an exact match between DNA found at a crime scene and a forensic DNA profile. A partial match means that the profiled individual should not be considered a suspect. But partial matches create another possibility: the crime scene DNA may come from a relative of the individual whose profile is in the database. The United Kingdom has used partial matches to identify unknown offenders in several high-profile cases, and the technique is gaining traction in the United States. The 2010 identification of a suspected serial killer could accelerate this trend. The Grim Sleeper Last summer, a familial DNA search led police to a man believed to have killed at least ten women in the Los Angeles area. The killings occurred between 1985 and 2007. (Initially, police thought the killer had been inactive for part of that time, and this gave rise to the Grim Sleeper epithet.) Prosecutors have charged Lonnie David Franklin, Jr., with the murders. Before the familial search, efforts to trace DNA found at the crime scenes had been unsuccessful. Franklin's DNA profile was not in the forensic database. Although he had previously been convicted of possessing stolen property, his convictions occurred before California started collecting DNA from people who had committed that offense. The familial DNA search found a partial match between DNA recovered from the victim's bodies and DNA from an offender whose profile was in the forensic database. The police put together a list of that offender's male relatives, focusing on the ones who lived nearby and were old enough to have committed the murders. This led them to the offender's father, Lonnie David Franklin, Jr. They began tracking Franklin's movements and eventually were able to retrieve his discarded food and utensils from a restaurant. The DNA on those items matched DNA samples from the murder scenes. (1) California is one of a relatively small group of states with a published policy on partial DNA matches. A 2008 directive from the state attorney general's office authorizes forensic laboratories to report partial matches to police and to conduct DNA searches specifically aimed at identifying an unknown perpetrator's relatives. (2) Maryland has gone in the other direction, enacting a law that prohibits familial DNA searches. Many states lack clear rules on these practices; in others, officials have adopted internal laboratory rules without public disclosure and debate. The FBI's current policy gives states authority over whether to permit partial match searching and reporting. (3) Benefits and Harms Franklin's arrest dramatically illustrates the benefits that familial DNA identification can produce. If his guilt is established, California's familial search will have removed a dangerous killer from the streets and enabled society to punish that killer. Besides helping law enforcement officials apprehend more criminals, familial identification could deter others from future criminal activity. And familial DNA identification could protect innocent people from wrongful arrest and conviction. (4) On the other side of the equation are the potential harms produced by familial identification. The approach raises several family privacy concerns. The genetic information recorded in forensic databases consists of short DNA stretches with no known role in determining a person's disease susceptibility or behavioral characteristics. …

Can simple population genetic models reconcile partial match frequencies observed in large forensic databases?

A recent study of partial matches in the Arizona offender database of DNA profiles has revealed a large number of nine and ten locus matches. I use simple models that incorporate the product rule, population substructure, and relatedness to predict the expected number of matches in large databases. I find that there is a relatively narrow window of parameter values that can plausibly describe the Arizona results. Further research could help determine if the Arizona samples are congruent with some of the models presented here or whether fundamental assumptions for predicting these match frequencies requires adjustments.

Use of sibling pairs to determine the familial searching efficiency of forensic databases

Pairs of individuals tested at the 13 CODIS core STR loci to determine sibship were used as a source of familial data that was seeded into a larger data set of 12,000 plus DNA profiles simulating a CODIS-like offender database. To determine whether known sibs could be found in the larger database two methods were used: degree of allele sharing and a kinship matching approach. The allele sharing method detected 62 of 109 of the known sib pairs (57%) while kinship matching detected 90 of the sib pairs (83%). Although kinship matching was the more efficient method of the two, the number of false positives generated prior to finding a true match was inversely related to the likelihood of sibship suggesting that many true siblings would not be easily found in a large forensic database via familial searching techniques.

'Genetic Surveillance' - The Bogeyman Response to Familial DNA Investigations

Familial DNA investigations are the inevitable and controversial extension of DNA identification and databasing. A DNA sample extracted from probative crime scene evidence may be compared to the national database of offenders and found to nearly match a person's profile but with one or more differences, excluding that individual as the perpetrator but presenting the likelihood that the criminal might be a near relative. Investigation of those relatives, and securing their DNA samples, has raised cries of Fourth Amendment violations and the specter of genetic surveillance. This Article examines this controversy from an innocence perspective, as familial DNA investigations can also clear the wrongly accused. After analyzing such investigations in light of Fourth Amendment precedent, it turns to debunking many of the objections and proposes a set of restrictions that will permit the use of this process while protecting individual rights.

Partial matches in heterogeneous offender databases do not call into question the validity of random match probability calculations

Offender DNA databases have been highly successful tools for generating investigative leads. Due to their success, the database sizes have increased such that some have suggested using the DNA profiles in offender databases for empirical pairwise studies to provide inferences regarding the validity of the current practices for generating random match probability estimates. These critics use observations under the assumption of independence to suggest that the current forensic DNA statistical calculations are invalid. However, some of these databases, such as CODIS, are not appropriate for such studies because they contain duplicate profiles and profiles of close relatives and are highly heterogeneous (i.e., comprised of individuals from many different population groups with unknown proportions). Observed departures from expectations will occur using these databases, but would have no relevance for questioning the reliability of statistical practices because the very heterogeneous data sets would be expected to violate the basic assumptions of independence. In addition, 9-, 10-, 11-, and 12-locus (out of 13 loci) matching profiles have been observed, are expected, and do not call into question the reliability of statistical practices. The phenomenon of matching profiles is similar to the concept of the birthday scenario. Regardless, simple computations under the assumption of independence for guideline purposes only show that partial matches observed in offender databases are not inconsistent with expectations. Indeed, computed random match probabilities that explain the observed matching profiles from pairwise comparisons are smaller than those observed based on routine casework calculations. Data analyses from offender databases based on assumptions of independence do not provide any basis for questioning the legitimacy of computations of random match probability values of any specific target profile based on the modified product rule that are currently followed in the DNA forensic community. Defined population data, which are sufficiently abundant, have already demonstrated the validity of the basic assumptions of DNA forensic statistical assumptions.

The rarity of DNA profiles

It is now widely accepted that forensic DNA profiles are rare, so it was a surprise to some people that different people represented in offender databases are being found to have the same profile. In the first place this is just an illustration of the birthday problem, but a deeper analysis must take into account dependencies among profiles caused by family or population membership.

Mopping Up After Coming Clean About 'Junk DNA'

In Coming Clean About 'Junk DNA,' Professor Simon Cole puts a final spin on the exchange of views about the privacy implications of law enforcement DNA databases in Joh (2006), Kaye (2006), Cole (2007), and Kaye (2007). He interprets such phrases as 'contain predictive medical information' and 'have predictive value' as applied to the CODIS STR types recorded in offender databases to mean 'only a very small amount of predictive value, at least currently.' He also criticizes my emphasis on the fact that there are strong reasons to question the prediction that the CODIS profiles ever will constitute valuable medical information as unduly 'presentist.' This paper provides a brief response.

Turning Base Hits into Earned Runs: Improving the Effectiveness of Forensic DNA Data Bank Programs

Forensic data banks contain biological samples and DNA extracts as well as computerized databases of coded DNA profiles of convicted offenders, arrestees and crime scene samples. When used for investigative and law enforcement purposes, DNA data banks have been successful in providing key investigative leads in hundreds of criminal investigations. A number of these crimes would never have been resolved without use of such data banks. In addition, in some limited number of investigations, the exclusion of known suspects whose DNA profiles are known to be in an offender database can save valuable investigative time.Despite the above benefits, in hundreds of cases DNA samples are never collected and administrative and laboratory logjams delay prompt database searches. Furthermore, hundreds of DNA database matches (hits) languish, without any followup by law enforcement or prosecutors. These prevent or delay DNA matches and therefore can leave the public in grave risk of potential harm from recidivistic offenders who otherwise could have been apprehended and convicted if the process functioned more effectively.

Family Ties: The Use of DNA Offender Databases to Catch Offenders' Kin

“The sins of the fathers are to be laid upon the children.”Just after midnight on March 21, 2003, a drunk stood on a footbridge over a motorway in a village in Surrey in southern England. After eight pints of beer, he was drunk enough to decide to drop a brick from the overpass into traffic to see if he could hit something; unfortunately, he was not so drunk that he missed. The brick crashed through the windshield on the driver's side of a truck. It hit the driver, Michael Little, in the chest, triggering a fatal heart attack. He stayed conscious long enough to pull the truck safely to the side of the road, thereby perhaps saving other motorists; then he died. The crime was widely publicized, as was the driver's role in preventing any further accidents.

Individual, Neighborhood, and Situational Factors Associated with Violent Victimization and Offending

The criminological literature presents substantial evidence that victims and offenders in violent crimes share demographic characteristics, engage in similar lifestyles and activities, and reside in socially disorganized neighborhoods. However, research has examined these relationships separately using either victimization or offending data, and prior studies have not examined these relationships by comparing victims and offenders within the same incidents. This limits the effect of examining whether these factors are associated with victimization and offending in similar or distinct ways. Using a law enforcement database of victims (n = 1,248) and offenders (n = 1,735) involved within the same aggravated battery incidents (n = 1,015) in Bernalillo County, New Mexico, this research explores whether victims and offenders involved in non‐lethal violence share certain individual, neighborhood and situational characteristics. Results suggest that victims and offenders live in socially disorganized neighborhoods and engage in risky lifestyles and violent offending behaviors in similar proportions. These findings highlight the overlapping factors associated with victimization and offending in non‐lethal violent personal crimes. The implications of these findings are discussed.

What determines compulsory community treatment? A logistic regression analysis using linked mental health and offender databases

Objective: Western Australia has one of the highest published rates of the use of compulsory treatment orders in the English-speaking world. Differences in patient characteristics, legislation and service setting may explain variations in the reported efficacy of compulsory community treatment. Our objective is to investigate predictors of Community Treatment Orders (CTO) placement in the first year of implementation in Western Australia and see if there were any differences in the type of patients placed on these orders compared to other studies. Method: A population–based record linkage study of Mental Health and Offender Databases comparing 265 patients on CTOs with a consecutive control group (CCG) of equal number matched on date of discharge from inpatient care or CTO placement. Results: Previous health service use, after-care placement, mental disorder history including schizophrenic history, a positive forensic history of violence to others as well as patient's marital status were the significant predictors of CTO placement. Conclusions: Studies of compulsory community treatment appear to be of similar populations. In spite of the comparatively high rate of use, psychiatrists in Western Australia do not appear to be applying community treatment orders to different types of patient compared to elsewhere. We need further research to establish the relative contribution of patient characteristics, legislation and service setting toward the use and outcome of compulsory community treatment.

What determines compulsory community treatment? A logistic regression analysis using linked mental health and offender databases.

Western Australia has one of the highest published rates of the use of compulsory treatment orders in the English-speaking world. Differences in patient characteristics, legislation and service setting may explain variations in the reported efficacy of compulsory community treatment. Our objective is to investigate predictors of Community Treatment Orders (CTO) placement in the first year of implementation in Western Australia and see if there were any differences in the type of patients placed on these orders compared to other studies. A population-based record linkage study of Mental Health and Offender Databases comparing 265 patients on CTOs with a consecutive control group (CCG) of equal number matched on date of discharge from inpatient care or CTO placement. Previous health service use, after-care placement, mental disorder history including schizophrenic history, a positive forensic history of violence to others as well as patient's marital status were the significant predictors of CTO placement. Studies of compulsory community treatment appear to be of similar populations. In spite of the comparatively high rate of use, psychiatrists in Western Australia do not appear to be applying community treatment orders to different types of patient compared to elsewhere. We need further research to establish the relative contribution of patient characteristics, legislation and service setting toward the use and outcome of compulsory community treatment.

A new pentaplex PCR system for forensic casework analysis.

In 1998 the Federal Criminal Police Office of Germany (BKA) established a central genetic database of offenders and suspects to facilitate comparisons with biological samples from future criminal offences. The five obligatory short tandem repeat (STR) loci in this database (TH01, SE33, vWA, FGA and D21S11) were co-amplified in a new PCR pentaplex analysing system together with the sex-specific locus amelogenin. Due to overlapping fragment sizes, amplification products were fluorescent dye-labelled with different colours, separated by electrophoresis and detected directly using the ABI PRISM 310 Genetic Analyzer. Reproducible and reliable results were obtained from as low as 125 pg template DNA, indicating high specificity and sensitivity of the assay. Environmental studies and enzymatic digest with DNase I revealed an excellent stability of the pentaplex system with typeable results even in cases of partially degraded DNA. Complete and reproducible DNA typing was possible in blood-stain mixtures with the minor component as low as 10%. Mean stutter peak intensities were analysed for all loci and ranged from 2.7 +/- 0.8% (TH01) to 10.6 +/- 1.6% (vWA) of the main signal intensity. Allele frequencies were determined in a North Bavarian population sample (n = 121). The combination of five systems resulted in a mean exclusion chance of 99.86% and a power of discrimination of 99.999996%. No deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium could be found.

The Evaluation and Implementation of Match Criteria for Forensic Analysis of DNA

This study describes a method for establishing match criteria used in forensic DNA typing. The validity of applying different match criteria based upon the molecular weight of a DNA band is discussed. The match criteria presented allow visually matching DNA patterns to be confirmed by computer assisted image analysis over the entire range of the sizing ladder. Approximately 5000 intragel and 5000 intergel comparisons were made between the restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) DNA band sizes obtained from casework, mock cases, and environmentally insulted samples and the band sizes obtained from their corresponding bloodstain standards (controls). Analyses of these data suggested that fragments located in different molecular weight size regions of an analytical gel required different match criteria for assessing a visual match. The results of these analyses support the use of the following match criteria: Intragel 0.5-10 kb = +/- 1.7%, 10-15 kb = +/- 3.2%, 15-22.6 kb = +/- 5.8%; Intergel and blind control 0.5-10 kb = +/- 3.0%, 10-15 kb = +/- 4.2%, 15-22.6 kb = +/- 10.0%; and human cell-line K562 and the monomorphic locus D7Z2 = +/- 2.5%. Each match criterion was also evaluated with respect to the distance in millimeters between matching bands throughout the 0.5-22.6 kb molecular weight size range. Applying these match criteria to different gel regions has been shown to be valid and reliable in comparisons conducted on more than 10,000 validation samples, in over 500 forensic cases and in more than 200 searches of a criminal sexual offender (CSO) database containing over 5000 individuals.

The application of the right to be forgotten in the context of criminal records expungement: the case law of the European Court of Human Rights and the case law of the us courts

The personal right to privacy, which had been elaborated in the jurisprudence of Anglo-American and Continental law states, has rapidly transmuted into modern forms owing to technological advancement of data maintenance and data processing which gradually involved photographing, fingerprints and various DNA data. At the dawn of the 20th century, a multitude of lawsuits concerning criminal records expungement broke out – therein, the plaintiffs tried to obtain a court order for destroying their criminal record data, as well as data relating to a suspicion in committing crimes. The mode of data dissemination to, e.g. employers, educational institutions, banking and credit institutions has repeatedly had a negative effect on plaintiffs’ lives. The United States case law has not once shown that even in the pre-computer era the maintenance of such personal data for an unlimited time period could frequently bring to deplorable consequences – for instance, the plaintiff lost his job or business, or was unable to take a loan, which brought to new lawsuits wherein the plaintiffs applied for a court order either to expunge, or to restrict the dissemination of their respective criminal records by the law enforcement agencies. However, the case law hints that such data was also disposed by banks and various governmental institutions. Similar actions were also lodged to the European Court of Human Rights since 1990s which brought the issue at an international level. Bearing in mind a series of various “right to privacy” interpretations, especially a “right to be forgotten”, the author suggests relating the aforesaid actions to the said category. This paper is stringently devoted to the “criminal record expungement” aspect of this right. The paper is subdivided into two parts. The first part deals with the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights on the subject. Quite a few decisions have been delivered by the said Court. The majority of the described judgments were delivered after the actions had been commenced against the government of France for introducing the plaintiffs into digital offender databases with an extremely vague legal possibility of criminal data expungement, and only in one of the trials the plaintiff succeeded. The second part of the paper is devoted to an analysis of US case law on the subject. The author discusses several notable judgements delivered by courts of state and federal jurisdictions as well as conducts a generalization of a) conjectural negative consequences to plaintiff in case his data is maintained indefinitely; b) groups of judgments where the courts adher either to order to expunge criminal records, to return the folder with them to plaintiff, or to restrict their dissemination, or not to expunge them at all.