Case Study: A Suspect Compulsion Order

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LAWS378 – Essay 1
1 – a:
A Suspect Compulsion Order is an order from the court that legally requires the subject to provide a DNA sample. The Criminal Investigations (Bodily Samples) Act 1995 s16 provides authority for the court to issue such an order. If it is granted, Mr Toki will be required to provide a DNA sample to the police for the purposes of matching his DNA to that found at the crime scene in April 2015. If the DNA evidence matches it can be introduced in court as proof of his presence at the crime scene.
1 – b:
The police are required to apply for a suspect compulsion order as the profile that currently exists in the databank is not able to be used as evidence in court. This is provided for by s71 of the Act which effectively states that profiles from the databank cannot be introduced as evidence the accused provided the crime scene DNA. A fresh DNA sample must be taken so that it can be matched to the crime …show more content…

However, the concept of excluding reliable evidence for reasons unrelated to the guilt of the accused is fundamentally flawed; disregarding the pursuit of truth and justice in the pursuit of principles far less honourable. The ‘misguided sentimentality’ of excluding illegally obtained evidence “regards the zealous officer of the law as a greater danger to the community than the unpunished [criminal]” . By failing to admit the databank profile of Mr Toki, society is adopting the illogical concept that we must burden the errant conduct of law officers by deliberately disregarding the guilt of the accused. This is a policy argument that is supported by the comments in Hansard “I firmly believe that the rights of the community and the rights of the country must come first.” In pursuit of the goal of protecting the community it is important to “increase the database’s size by adding more identified DNA profiles. This bill will facilitate the growth of the database and the resolution of unsolved

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