There are five factors that prevent crime labs from meeting the increased demand for DNA analysis due to a backlog of cases. These factors are as follows: “Knowledge of the potential of DNA evidence to solve cases has grown exponentially among criminal justice practitioners and the general public a like, The number of DNA submissions for property crimes has skyrocketed, and these types of crime are much more commonplace than violent crimes, Advances that make it possible for tiny, trace amounts of DNA samples to be analyzed has led to more requests for DNA testing of guns and steering wheels to determine who may have last handled the object, Older and unsolved cases from the pre-DNA era are being opened and their samples submitted for testing …show more content…
Other factors contribute to the backlog of cases, such as lack of training, a lack of accreditation, DNA contamination, sentencing mistakes, and poor training. A lack of training is a very large issue when it comes to DNA analysis; the field is forever changing and developing more accurate and faster ways of analyzing DNA samples. If those investigators that are analyzing the DNA have not been attending continuing professional education they will not know these new techniques, therefor slowing the process of analyzing and identifying the DNA samples. Another issue is a lack of accreditation, the most recognized and primary source of accreditation is the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors (ASCLD) (Swanson et at., pg. 229, 2012) . This organization sets precedence when it comes to what I required of a Crime lab to ensure that they are performing under the correct procedures and obtaining the newest education and information in regards to analysis. Although the accreditation does not say that the information is 100 percent accurate but it does speak to a more confident answer because the lab is following a specific set of rules for a lack of better …show more content…
A major issue is sentencing mistakes; this is a result of the above issues. Crime labs must ensure that they have the proper training, the proper accreditation, and ensure that the techniques in which they use to collect and handle DNA samples is on point to ensure there is no contamination. If there is any doubt after a conviction the appeals court may require further testing of the DNA sample. This may put a hold on other cases that need to be analyzed, and if the sample comes back with a different result than the first time not only is it going to exonerate the wrongly accused and sentenced but it is going to possibly put a halt on the processing of any other samples to ensure that the crime lab is using their processes appropriately and don’t have any other cases where there conclusions were incorrect. The final additional factor is poor training, it is one thing to not have training at all but if the training that the lab receives is poor and even possibly incorrect information then another larger issue is brought to the surface because now all of the analysis that the crime lab has produced may not at all be
As we learned this week, DNA databases are used by various governmental agencies for several different purposes. We all have seen new magazine shows such as, 20/20 or Dateline, that show the collection of DNA samples from suspects in a case that is compared to those collected at the scene of the crime. But what happens when the sample is an incomplete match, compromised, or contaminated? The answer is the wrongful conviction of innocent citizens. The case that I have decided to highlight, is the wrongful conviction of Herman Atkins. In 1986, Atkins was convicted of two counts of forcible rape, two counts of oral copulation, and robbery in the state of California. It was alleged that Herman entered a shoe store, and raped, beat, and robbed a
“DNA Testing and the Death Penalty.” ACLU: American Civil Liberties Union. 3 Oct. 2011. Web. 22 April 2014.
. DNA can be left or collected from the hair, saliva, blood, mucus, semen, urine, fecal matter, and even the bones. DNA analysis has been the most recent technique employed by the forensic science community to identify a suspect or victim since the use of fingerprinting. Moreover, since the introduction of this new technique it has been a large number of individuals released or convicted of crimes based on DNA left at the crime sceneDNA is the abbreviation for deoxyribonucleic acid. DNA is the genetic material found in cells of all living organisms. Human beings contain approximately one trillion cells (Aronson 9). DNA is a long strand in the shape of a double helix made up of small building blocks (Riley). There are four types of building
At least 99 percent of the time, forensic science is reliable and deem accurate. Although four experts that matched Brandon Mayfield’s fingerprint to the fingerprint on a bag at the crime scene, they in fact misidentified the evidence and Spanish police found out that the latent fingerprint actually belong to be an Algerian. This shown that forensic experts and attorneys can definitely be wrong; furthermore, it convey that not all evidence presented in the case is subjected to be infallible and there is a possibility for committed error. Leah Bartos, a UC Berkley graduate student with a Journalism degree, conducted an experiment to understand the process of becoming a certified forensic consultant. She had no prior knowledge in the forensic discipline, but became certified after she passed the open book exam and sent ACFET her bachelor degree, resume, and references. The ACFET exam have a 99 percent pass rate; therefore, it is criticized for creditability of its certified graduate and branded a diploma milling organization for-profit. Attorney can argue the weakness of the forensic evidence presented, hence forensic science call for bad science and can definitely be misuse in our adversarial legal
The Innocence Project, using DNA evidence, has gone back to past cases and exonerated innocent people when they were wrongly convicted. There may be many reasons that several people are wrongly convicted every year. However, there are 6 reasons deemed as the most important regarding wrongful convictions. These reasons are eyewitness misidentification, unvalidated or improper forensic science, false confessions or admissions, government misconduct, informants or snitches, and bad lawyering (understand the causes).
States. The FBI performs testing for free to all police agencies to help keep costs down
Therefore, the criminal justice system relies on other nonscientific means that are not accepted or clear. Many of forensic methods have implemented in research when looking for evidence, but the methods that are not scientific and have little or anything to do with science. The result of false evidence by other means leads to false testimony by a forensic analyst. Another issue with forensic errors is that it is a challenge to find a defense expert (Giannelli, 2011). Defense experts are required to help the defense attorneys defend and breakdown all of the doubts in the prosecutors scientific findings in criminal cases. Scientific information is integral in a criminal prosecution, and a defense attorney needs to have an expert to assist he/she in discrediting the prosecution (Giannelli,
DNA in forensic science has been around for a long time. DNA has had help in solving almost every crime committed. There have been a lot of crimes where people are raped or murdered and the person who did it runs free. Scientists can collect the littlest item they see at the scene, such as a cigarette butt or coffee cup and check it for DNA. People have spent years in jail for a crime they didn’t commit till DNA testing came into effect. People are getting out of jail after 20 years for a crime they didn’t commit, cause of the DNA testing. DNA has helped medical researchers develop vaccines for disease causing microbe. DNA has become a standard tool of forensics in many murders and rapes.
Once a crime has been committed the most important item to recover is any type of evidence left at the scene. If the suspect left any Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) at the crime scene, he could then be linked to the crime and eventually charged. A suspect’s DNA can be recovered if the suspect leaves a sample of his or her DNA at the crime scene. However, this method was not always used to track down a suspect. Not too long ago, detectives used to use bite marks, blood stain detection, blood grouping as the primary tool to identify a suspect. DNA can be left or collected from the hair, saliva, blood, mucus, semen, urine, fecal matter, and even the bones. DNA analysis has been the most recent technique employed by the forensic science community to identify a suspect or victim since the use of fingerprinting. Moreover, since the introduction of this new technique it has been a la...
Office of the Inspector General. (2010). Review of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Laboratory’s Forensic DNA Case Backlog. U.S. Department of Justice.
"Using DNA to Solve Crimes." U.S. Department of Justice: National Institute of Justice. (September 9, 2014). Web. 29 May 2015.
Each laboratory has its own standard and guidelines rather than having uniformity across the industry. This allows one forensic labs results to be different to another’s based on their own individual practices. The standards and guidelines for the checking of forensic laboratories varies from state to state and the inspection is peer assessed. This is a problem as the auditing of the labs may be subject to bias rather than using an independent authority. Lab test guidelines might not result in all evidence having to be reported. For example, the Waring case in Western Australia, where a young man was charged with rape because the lab failed to report that more than Waring’s DNA was found in the victim’s rape kit. According to this lab’s approved guidelines – low levels of DNA below a certain point found, do not have to be reported (7). The issue of what standard was being used was not evident in this case. If the guidelines had required the forensic scientist to reveal even the very low samples of a second male’s DNA, the jury may not have convicted an innocent person (8). When the professionals get it wrong, and they do, their authority and their power alters the lives of innocent people. Pressure can be placed on forensic scientists and technicians. So when something doesn’t fit with what has been predicted, it has been known that tampering of evidence can occur. Forensic science requires
Singer, Julie A. "The Impact Of Dna And Other Technology On The Criminal Justice System: Improvements And Complications."Albany Law Journal Of Science & Technology 17.(2007): 87. LexisNexis Academic: Law Reviews. Web. 10 Mar. 2014.
I – Introduction The use of DNA in the process of criminal investigations has become a useful tool in the facilitation of justice. In order to enhance its effectiveness, proposals for the expansion of DNA databases are common. But how would the implementation of a universal, compulsory database in New Zealand be received? The rights most notably at tension here are various privacy rights of individuals, and the public safety value in crime-solving, both of which remain highly valued in our society.
Forensic science has now been recognized as an important part of the law enforcement team to help solve crimes and cold cases. The advances in technology are being used each day and we must continue to strive to develop better advances in this field. The recent discovery of using DNA in criminal cases has helped not only positively identify the suspect, but it has helped exonerate hundreds of innocent individuals. “With new advances in police technology and computer science, crime scene investigation and forensic science will only become more precise as we head into the future.” (Roufa, 2017) Forensic science and evidence helps law enforcement officials solve crimes through the collection, preservation and analysis of evidence. By having a mobile crime laboratory, the scene gets processed quicker and more efficiently. Forensic science will only grow in the future to be a benefit for the criminal justice