In the spring, New York authorities will be able to implement a new policy to identify potential suspects: partial DNA matching.
The New York Times reports that this controversial practice that was approved in December, could allow law enforcement officers to pursue suspects based on if the DNA evidence closely resembles someone's genetic code. Therefore, if DNA evidence is found at a crime scene and it is a close match to another person's DNA that is on file, authorities can use that piece of information to see if the person who committed the crime is a relative of the close genetic match.
This partial link may be an effective tool because family members share genetic traits that would appear when the DNA is analyzed.
The Gothamist reports: "Under the old rules, police could only pursue a suspect using DNA found at a crime if the recovered DNA is an exact match with one of the 343,000 genetic profiles contained in a state database of convicts."
The New York Times goes on to note that there are people for and against this new policy.
Those in favor believe that partial DNA matching will give officers one more piece of evidence that could help them solve the puzzle. The New York deputy secretary for public safety and the chairwoman of the Commission on Forensic Science, Denis E. O'Donnell said, "You could have a horrific crime - a serial rapist or killer - and you could have a clue in a lab that could identify the killer or rapist that we're currently not allowed to use" (New York Times).
Those opposed believe that the practice infringes on a person's right to privacy. Some are also fearful that this practice could have innocent people treated like suspects.
- New York criminal defense lawyers (FindLaw)
- "DNA Evidence: It's in Your Genes" (FindLaw)
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