DNA in Police Work, Oslo April 23, 2020

Time: Thursday 23 April, 09.00 - 16.00
Organizers: The Nordic Committee on Bioethics and The Norwegian Biotechnology Advisory Board
The event is public and free of charge - Register here!

In the mid-1980s, a method for identifying individuals via analysis of the DNA strand was invented. Today, DNA fingerprinting is used all over the world in cases involving criminal activity and missing persons.

This identification test is done by analysing areas outside of the coding regions of the DNA, earlier referred to as junk DNA. The test is not supposed to reveal genetic information about a person. This limitation has been viewed as a strength in light of privacy considerations.

New methods for using DNA in police work have emerged in recent years. One is the ability to search for a match of a DNA profile via a search for family members, either in police registries or in private ancestry databases. Another, known as DNA phenotyping, involves genetic tests for visible traits that can provide information about what an unknown suspect might look like. This method may be useful when a search for a match of the DNA profile is without result.

Both methods have been used and have helped to solve cases. In Europe, however, The Netherlands is the only country that has amended its legislation to regulate new tests.