DNA Investigative Techniques - A Forensic Overview PDF

DNA Investigative technique Dna is deoxyribonucleic acid and it is the molecule that carries genetic information for the development and function of an organism. Dna profiling is using many tests and techniques to identify the genetic information on the individual cell. Its aco0re method of obtaini...

DNA Investigative technique Dna is deoxyribonucleic acid and it is the molecule that carries genetic information for the development and function of an organism. Dna profiling is using many tests and techniques to identify the genetic information on the individual cell. Its aco0re method of obtaining a positive identity especially when there is a lack of something such as medical records. Dna profiling is used as a forensic technique in criminal investigation, comparing the likelihood of their involvement in crime. Dna is collected through methods like swabbing where you take a plastic stick with a cotton tip and collect dna from inside the mouth or from other areas like skin or genitals. Furthermore when doing a dna profiling and collecting dna it can also be through the collection of teth, hair, blood ,faeces bone, tissues and cells. When collecting faeces it wll be through the use of a stool kit which contains container that attaches to the toilet. The kit will also have a preservation sample that will be added to the faeces so that it is preserved before concealing the container.When collecting semen swabs are usually preferred Every DNA is uni9qu which makes it very reliable and it can help identify victims and offenders. This is a strength because the police are able to identify through the use of forensic science, in the laboratory the evidence collected is admissible in court due to the reliability. Another strength of using DNA in a criminal investigation is that it can be used to identify a person when all other methods have failed. For example in the case of Sally anne Brownman FNA was taken from a fight in a bar then later linked to her case. Thai shows that dna is very useful when trying to find violent crimes However dna is not always useful in the criminal investigation due to the risk of cross contamination in the laboratory. This could likely lead to the wrongful prosecution of an offender. It is unlikely that due to advances in techniques in collecting DN that trace amounts might be used to secure a conviction, however this can lead to wrongful convictions like in technological crimes due to the lack of DNA traces and evidence. Overall DNA is the most reliable technique due to advances in technology and techniques that can link an offender to the crime scene or victim. It does not just rely on the offenders DNA in the database but famil;y DNA can also be used. Dna profiling is definitely most effective for violent crimes and also can be useful for property cries if the trespasser makes a mistake like spitting or dropping a hair. Surveillance Surveilance is the use of ctv cameras or other forms of similartehcnology such as bwv. Itsthe usage of technology to watch and record people at any nplace at any or all tiems. Iot can act as a deterrent for crimr which means that it will ward peopemfrom ever committed ciems int he first pace because they have this idea that they are ebign wtahcd. Surveillance is something commonly usd in the police foirce snd usedin the public area for safeguarding Surveillance is done through the a systematic collection of data. It is accomplished through the use of data generated locally and collected centrally. Surveilance signals are not openly transmitted but sent to specific monitors, ensuring a controlled and private viewing setup. With the use of surveillance there is a great deal of evidence that could be collected and recorded for a crime. O the crime was caught directly on surveillance technology then that becomes hardcore proof for the crime being committed, who committed the crime and who is the victim of the crime However for surveillance there are cases and situations in which it will not be the best use of technique for investigation. Those situations include when crimes happen where there is no cctv which eans that the cameras cannot look at crimes to get any evidence for the case. Another way surveillance has limitations is how there is the factor of cost which basically means that it cost money to pay for these things. Final Limitation Of surveillance is that there could be technical issues. For example when using cctvthe technology could have an issue inside of it which causes the recording to be faulty Surveillance can be effective fo crimes such aas violence theft urglarynand property crimes. This Is because when these crimes happen they are caught in a way which can be seen from an outside point of view which is good for CCTV When colin stagg was arrested after the murder of rachel nickel in 1992 the police forces attempted a type of surveillance honeytrap on him. They had a female officer lizzie pretend to be interested into him through that they would get him to admit to the murder but in the end colin stag kept his innocence. Information about this was put to court and it was deemed misconceived and not merely an excess of zeal but rather a blatant attempt to incriminate a suspect by positive deceptive conduct of the grossest kind. A case example of this technique actually working is the murder of james bulgar,where cctv cameras caught a child being stolen and taken 2 miles away where he was beaten and abused by two 10 year old boys and left to die from his head injuries Overall cctv is effective as a way to catch criminal offenders and as a investigative techniques because it hel;sp people record and review footage and deter the possibility of crimes happening Forensic Forensic investigation is the science - based process used to collect, preserved and amylase evidence for establishing facts proceedings. It combines various techniques such,as biology and chemistry and other things to identity and question evidence from a crime When doing forensic investigation some techniques that would usually be used are searching for small things such as fingerprints, searching the body for the specific wounds that were conducted ito it or even the use of blood pattern analysis software The strengths of forensic investigation would be how it can determine the causes of death. This is a strength because it helps cases better with learning how the vitim died and what exactly the offender did which cn be used later in court. Another strength of forensic investigation would include how forensic investigation can target a wide number of fields such as toxicology and digital forensic which makes it versatile. Limitations of forensic investigations would be how the possibility of cross contamination with the evidence could ruin the evidence and make it useless , misconceptions and ignorance can learn to the misleading the experiencement analysis and how innovation is hindered as the approach is mostly the same When a peron named Colette as a murdered forensic scientist uses DNA samples they built up from the jurder scene and from the local pub which the murderer had visited after doing the killing. Oaul Hutchinson was convicted for 26 years after a familial DNA was enabled and are;active had a sample taken following a driving offence. An example of forensic investigation working is the case of the Golden state killer. Investigations use forensic technology and genetic gemology to track down the joseph james deangelo who was responsible for the multiple murders and assaults in california The type of crimes that forensic investigation would be good for would mostly just be violent and burglary crimes Overall forensic investigation has many advantages t it that can in most cases outweigh the disadvantages to oil which would make it very useful to0 have and use. It is really effective because there are so many different ways forensic investigations are used because of its wide fields and variations Profiling Profiling investigation technique is when there is a development of psychological and behavioural profile of an unknown perpetrator on the characteristics of the crime and available evidence Fort a criminal profiling to be done there can be more than one approach. For the the first approach gathered data is sud at the crime scene and investigators can identity characteristics of the offender e.g lifestyle or personality trains. Then from this the offender is put into either category or organised offender./ the second approach is starting with small detail;s and slowly creating a bigger picture. There are no assumptions of the offender and data off the computer is used for the approach Strengths o to the profiling investigation would be links of crime committed b7uy the same offender that it would al;so be beneficial to the police because it helps to target their resources and priorities suspects Disadvantages to the profilin investigation would be how it can rely on consistency which is not always actually reliable, it can add information to a profile that is not based on facts and also how it relies on facts on a crime scene that it may not actually be facts Ted Bundy was a bad serial kil;ler and through the use of analysing his methods,characteristics , psychological makeup and victim selection partner they were able to put him in the top ten most wanted list which would also lead to his cap\[ute in 1928. A case example of this investigation not working would be the central park five cases where five teenagers were wrongfully convicted of assaulting a jogger. The profiling techniques was used and faulty years later fna technique was used and the real perpetrator was found Poifling investiatiibve tehcniqyue would be useful for crimes like violent or theft crimes