5/6/2019 Angelina DiBeasi - Google Docs

Angelina DiBeasi

English 1102

Professor Martin

April 30th 2019

What’s wrong what’s right?

There is always ways to find a criminal but are they all ethical? The question brought to

this research is about law enforcement and if they are doing it the right way. The question is

going to ask you is, should law enforcement be able to use outside sources to solve criminal

cases? Ethically law enforcement should be able to use outside DNA sources to find familial

matches therefore it helps find DNA if the person isn’t in the database. This way law

enforcement could help close cold cases or even close more recent cases if they are in outside

databases.

DNA dates back to 1986 when it was first used in a criminal case. It took many years to

run DNA and get it back, it isn’t like it is now a days.The academic journal states, “Advances in

forensic techniques have expanded the temporal horizon of criminal investigations” (Hughes

Issue 1). This explains how advancing DNA could help many cold cases. They figured if they

can advance the DNA than they can close many open cold cases by using the dna from when the

crime was committed but that can cause issues with the rights people have now a days. People

have issues with the way the law enforcement is closing cases. People are using outside DNA

websites to figure out family relatives and law enforcement are taking their DNA to connect

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them or family members to criminal cases. DNA advancements are the best technology to grow

in our era because it puts away so many more criminals than in the past.

People get smarter and smarter each year with committing crimes and getting away with

it. There’s many crimes shows and it does give ideas to criminals on ways to get away with

crimes but they will have leave some sort of DNA behind which can still be tested through the

system of the databases or outside databases. According to Journal of Interpersonal Violence,

“We also present six case study examples of how DNA testing and CODIS hits helped identify

serial sexual assaults in both stranger and non-stranger sexual assault cases” (Campbell issue 24).

Most people know their killer or rapist but with crimes evolving more criminals are hurting

random people. Rapist, killers, human trafficers are getting smarter and smarter as the years go

on but little do they know so is the law enforcement technology. People are learning how to

commit crimes while trying not to leave a trace behind but they don’t understand how no matter

where you go a little piece of you will always be left. DNA is getting more and more advanced

everyday, the police are finding new ways everyday to put a criminal away. The Journal

expresses how DNA not tested in certain cases are being tested with the new technology which is

helping put away the criminals that committed the crime.

It also has to do with how the leaving behind DNA which can help law enforcement

finds the familial match faster using outside sources. It will help solve cases and put away

criminals. Family members can but in a private website to put their DNA to find out information

about their family which stays in the system and it can be used to get familial matches to the

criminal. Stated by American Criminal Law Review, “The article focuses on the constitutionality

of familial searches in law enforcement deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) databases. Topics include

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partial-match searching of DNA evidence, the civil rights of convicted offenders and their family

members, and the admissibility of kinship matching during trial. Information is provided on an

individual's expectation of privacy” (Kaye Issue 1). Everyone that is blood related to you has a

similar DNA match which means if a crime is committed by someone and they have a family

member in the system than it will come back a familia match which gives the police somewhere

to start. This familia match could cause tension in the system because it could be putting

someone away which is a good thing but the family member is helping because they came up in

codes. Familial matches are another fast way to find the criminal in a case.

This can also help with people that were wrongly accused of a crime that they didn’t

commit. The wrongly accused never get their life back but it can really help them be free and to

put the real criminal away. Times Magazine explains that, “The phenomenon of exonerations of

wrongfully convicted prisoners through post-conviction DNA testing,” (Times Magazine). New

advancements in dna could help overturn convictions. Meaning people that have been wrongly

accused could be freed using a different way to find out about DNA and the crimes that were

committed. DNA is a very specific but complex thing. DNA has improved over time which has

helped many people get out of prison for a crime they never committed. The idea that this new

technology can really show whose DNA is who can really help cold cases that were never closed

because the DNA wasn’t strong enough. These can really help people be free and try again at life

and put the right criminal away for what they did.

This advancement in technology are some of the greatest ideas ever invented because it

does help so many cases new and old to be closed so these people are being put away and it helps

the grieving family know that their criminal is being put away and there will pay for what they

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did. According to Natalie Ram, “The article focuses on the use of genealogical databases in

criminal investigations. It comments on the arrest of the alleged Golden State Killer (GSK),

Joseph James DeAngelo, on April 24, 2018 using DNA profile information from the

genealogical database GEDmatch. It mentions the use of genealogical DNA cleared two suspects

in the GSK case and talks about demographic differences in criminal justice DNA databases and

genealogical databases. It talks about U.S. laws providing DNA data privacy” (Ram Vol 360).

DNA databases improve each year which is helping close cases much faster and easier. DNA

databases is a very complex system which takes time to figure out. When someone puts DNA

into the system the only way to get exactly who commited the crime is having the person in

codes. Not everyone in the world is in the system which causes issues with trying to find out

whose DNA is it. Science is trying to better the system with advancements all the time.

Advancements to the system could one day have everyone’s fingerprints and DNA in the system

so if a crime is committed and any type of DNA is left behind than it will be a easy case to close.

This is really turn peoples life again in the good for families and bad for the criminals and what

they deserve.

People don’t understand that these advancements and how this puts away criminals that

need to be put away for the crimes they committed and if using outside sources to find matches

than they should be able because these criminals need to be put away so they don’t hurt other

people.Stated by the author, “The United Kingdom was the first country to use its database to

generate crime suspects from incomplete matches of crime scene evidence profiles with profiles

in the data banks, these so called familial searches bring criminal investigators to the

suspicionless family members of an individual whose DNA is a close match to the profile found

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in the crime scene evidence” (Krimsky page 175). The author writes about how genetics have

impacted so many people's life. The book has different sections of what occurs in genetic

databases. Sections include how DNA has exonerated people in prison that didn’t commit a

crime. Other sections include the DNA process and why it is so important to be 110% accurate

when it comes to DNA testing because one mess up or slip can cause a whole case to be

admissible in court which could end the whole case and let the suspect get away. Krimsky

explains, “The United Kingdom was also the first country in the world to convict someone

following identification through a familial search result” (Krimsky page 175). Genetic Justice

has many different explanations about DNA and it also tells stories about the wrongly accused

and how they were freed using the more advanced Technology.

These technology advancements will help law enforcement get DNA faster, it will help

cold cases. The one case that was a very big deal was about this man that was a serial rapist and

killer whose DNA was not good enough to put him away he went on for decades living his life

while the victims families were grieving, he attended a hockey game and left his DNA on a

napkin and was prosecuted because it was connect to a family member that used a outside DNA

website. Phillips explains, “Molecular forensic work is progressing these technologies to an even

greater degree by analyzing extremely damaged DNA and by introducing ribonucleic acid

(RNA) methodology to the study of forensics,” (Philips issue 6). Technology is advancing which

is transforming the world of forensic science. Improving the technology is improving the way

criminals are being put away. The systems are becoming more reliable. The world of forensic

science is improving by figuring out DNA, hair, blood and more with all this technology it

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comes back more accurate than it might back in the day. It is helping detectives convict the right

criminals.

The issue with this research is it does affect the privacy of the family members of the

accused and they could be the reason they go away. Expressed by Philips, “ Particular attention is

given to how some of these applications have opened up several controversies regarding genetic

privacy” (Philips issue 6). People have the right to privacy of who they are, family members

don’t have to help out in criminal cases so them taking their DNA without them knowing could

cause issues with privacy. Not only is it invading privacy but it can be thrown out of a case in

court and ruin the whole case even if they are guilty, no evidence means no case. With no case

these criminals could walk and they can’t be tried again on the same case. They risk letting these

criminals go to go commit more crimes and hurt more people. Lives of people could be risked

because law enforcement didn’t go with protocol and ruined the case.

Law enforcement should be able to use these outside databases because it will help

families know that their criminals are put away and it helps people know that they are safe and

don’t have to worry about criminals being out and about committing more crimes hurting more

people.According to Guerrini he stated that, “investigators identified the suspect by first

identifying his relatives using a free, online genetic database populated by individuals

researching their family trees” (Guerrini issue 10). Law enforcement should have access to

outside databases because it could really help put away criminals and help close cases

they should have been closed a long time ago. Helping the police out with giving DNA it could

just be easier if they could take it from websites. These websites are causing issues with privacy,

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people are getting upset because they are losing their privacy to their DNA. These people should

understand that putting away a criminal is more important because they can’t hurt more

people when they are locked away. Criminals need to be put away and if using outside DNA

sources is what it takes than Law Enforcement should be able to use it. It will help put families to

have peace and the victims to know that this criminal is put away it helps many people in the end

even if it does affect the fourth amendment to people's freedom and privacy of their DNA.

In conclusion to the research that law enforcement should be able to use outside DNA

sources to put away criminals and close Cold cases. They should take the risk of getting it

thrown out in court because in the end if they are a serial killer or rapist they will do it again and

they will just have to take more caution the next time they try the criminal. Thinking that putting

away people that commit crimes is a very big issue in our era because so many criminals get

away with these crimes because they are good at not leaving DNA so having familial matches

really could help out a case. all the sources that have to do with my research agree that these

criminals should be put away for the crimes they commit. The research that was covered went

over the history of technology and how back in the day it was really hard to use DNA to solve

the case because it took so long to find but now we have the technology to find this DNA we

should use it to our best ability it's the right thing to do and what law enforcement should be

doing and not worrying about if the DNA will get thrown out or not in criminal court case. this

issue needs to be addressed because it is a big deal in our government due to so many criminals

being able to walk after the crimes they committed and hurting other people over and over again

and not facing any consequences. these victims deserve to know that their criminal isn't walking

the streets and they've been put away even if it does use the DNA from family members to help

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put that person away. If you commit a crime you should be put away, people that were wrongly

accused will also have a better percentage I'm not being put away for a crime they didn't commit.

I hope my research gave you background and incentive about why law enforcement should be

able to use outside DNA sources and to find familiar matches to help these victims know that

their criminal was put away in locked behind bars.

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Citations:

Campbell, Rebecca, et al. “Tested at Last: How DNA Evidence in Untested Rape Kits Can

Identify Offenders and Serial Sexual Assaults.” Journal of Interpersonal Violence, vol. 33, no.

24, Dec. 2018, pp. 3792–3814.

Guerrini, Christi J., et al. “Should Police Have Access to Genetic Genealogy Databases?

Capturing the Golden State Killer and Other Criminals Using a Controversial New Forensic

Technique.” PLoS Biology, vol. 16, no. 10, Oct. 2018, pp. 1–9.

Hughes, Jonathan A., and Monique Jonas. “Time and Crime: Which Cold-Case Investigations

Should Be Reheated?” Criminal Justice Ethics, vol. 34, no. 1, Apr. 2015, pp. 18–41.

Kaye, David H. “The Genealogy Detectives: A Constitutional Analysis of ‘Familial Searching.’”

American Criminal Law Review, vol. 50, no. 1, Winter 2013, pp. 109–163.

“Overturning Convictions.” TIME Magazine, vol. 169, no. 17, Apr. 2007, p. 16. EBSCOhost,

Phillips, Melissa Lee. “Crime Scene Genetics: Transforming Forensic Science through

Molecular Technologies.” BioScience, vol. 58, no. 6, June 2008, pp. 484–489.

Ram, Natalie, et al. “Genealogy Databases and the Future of Criminal Investigation.” Science,

vol. 360, no. 6393, June 2018, pp. 1078–1079.

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Krimsky, Sheldon, and Tania Simoncelli. Genetic Justice : Dna Data Banks, Criminal

Investigations, and Civil Liberties. Columbia University Press, 2011.

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