Criminal Justice
5 page Essay on how DNA Can Better be Used in our Society. Please use at least 10-15 references.
ANSWER
Utilization of DNA in the Society
The use of DNA in solving criminal cases has taken center stage globally, with several countries adopting it. It involves identifying individuals based on their unique genetic composition, thereby enhancing more accuracy in solving crimes. Forensic scientists use DNA samples from various crime scenes to find matches of suspects; in case of any match, then a keen look is developed into the case. DNA technology enhances the gathering of relevant information, which is vital in the criminal investigation. The use of DNA in criminology has proved to be of great value in criminal justice. Like any other technology, DNA technology also comes with certain limitations that cannot be overlooked; therefore, it is of significance to identify possible risks and errors that arise from the utilization of the technology (Machado & Granja 2020). Risks and errors may arise from violations of civil rights, genetic privacy, and suspects’ morals.
Comparison of different genetic fingerprints enhances the criminal justice authority to identify whether the subject samples come from the same person or a different person; only identical twins share the same DNA. DNA technology utilizes biological samples like blood, urine, skin, sweat, saliva, and tears, to mention a few. Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) is used to analyze DNA samples; it is used to prepare DNA profiles specifically for criminal identification, thereby making it possible to match suspects using blood, saliva, hair, or sperm samples. DNA samples are also used in civilian forensic identification, especially for paternity testing and recognition of missing persons and human remains. Generally, DNA is known to enhance the effectiveness and quality of police criminal investigation exercises.
Apart from using technology in generating truth in criminal investigations, it is also associated with expectations, epistemic customs, and unbiased in different social and professional organizations. DNA technology also highlights various cultures, traditions, procedures, and languages, relating them to science and law. DNA technology undergoes several steps that highlight legal, technical-scientific, and bureaucratic procedures commonly known as administrative objectivity. The subject topic offers unfailing evidence since it utilizes cultural images which portray a distinct opinion hence considered accurate and obsolete. The subject technology has since revolutionized the criminal justice system over the past years, thereby boosting the possibility of making fair and deserving judgments in identifying criminals. DNA profiling has been used in law enforcement to solve cases that have been pending for many decades (Rigano 2019).
There were scenarios when DNA profiles were created at the time of the crime. Later, no matches were found during the investigation; database technology has helped solve such mysteries since it enhances DNA profiles and subsequent quick searching. The application of DNA profiling in law enforcement has helped exonerate individuals who had been wrongfully accused and convicted of crimes they did not commit. Advances and research in DNA technology have been used to provide information on the potential genetic backgrounds of various people who are uncertain of their backgrounds and heritage. Case examples where DNA profiling has been used are like in Colin Pitchfork’s case; it involved a girl named Dawn Ashworth Ashworth who was assaulted sexually and murdered in Leicester in 1986. A man had initially confessed to committing the crime, but the investigative police suspected otherwise (Hanganu et al., 2017).
The suspect’s DNA samples and other suspected individuals were taken for analysis by a professor, Alec Jeffreys. The guy who had confessed to committing the crime was innocent; a man who had volunteered to give out his sample later confessed that he had been paid by someone else, the actual criminal, to give false samples. Another instance of the technology application is when it was used to forgive a man, Craig Coley, who had been wrongfully accused of double murder in 1978. The suspect was later released in 2017 when DNA samples were re-tested from the crime scene in 2015 and only to turn out negative, hence not matching his. The reason for wrongful conviction was that there was no technology to test the available DNA samples at the crime scene in the 1970s when the subject alleged suspect was convicted.
The current DNA technology has been improved, making it more accurate and reliable; the profiling had been changed from gel electrophoresis to capillary electrophoresis, capable of separating DNA. Gen electrophoresis cannot withstand electric fields of more than 40V; on the other hand, capillary electrophoresis can use voltages of up to 30,000V; hence separation time is reduced from hours to a few minutes (Assini et al., 2019). Besides, the current subject technology is more sensitive, thereby enabling investigators to retrieve DNA from tiny numbers of criminal suspects’ skin cells and distinguish multiple DNA from different individuals. For instance, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) relies on a Combined DNA Index System that utilizes computers and various DNA technologies to contrast several DNA profiles. The system mentioned above enhances the generation of investigative clues when biological evidence like semen or blood has been recovered from a crime scene.
Another instance where DNA technology has been applied in society is in Spain. A lady separated from her biological parents during the Franco dictatorship reunited with her family through DNA technology. The subject techniques were also used in Wisconsin to solve a 35-year-old cold case murder with genealogy databases’ assistance. In the context of a rape and murder case in 1984 where a woman in Milwaukee was the victim, the police composed a DNA sample from the semen found in the crime scene (García, Crespillo & Yurrebaso 2017). The investigative police were unable to find any suspect by then; hence no known match for the picked samples. Later on, a search was initiated on genealogy databases known to store several millions of DNA profiles; luckily, one person was identified as a close relative of the criminal. The search was carried out through the family tree, and the killer was finally captured; his DNA was an exact match of that which had been collected from the crime scene 30 years before the finding.
DNA technology, in general, has helped in solving several mystery criminal cases since its invention. It has enhanced high accuracy levels in the investigations. Advances and inventions in DNA collections and analysis have tremendously transformed the criminal justice system. Forensic psychologists play key roles in applying DNA technology; it has helped in answering questions such as who committed the crime and why he/she had to commit the crime. Through DNA technology, the investigator can know why a crime was committed in a particular manner, like using a specific weapon (Chakravarty et al., 2018). Through the use of DNA technology, forensic psychologists can determine the effect of crimes on different victims. The subject technology has since taken criminal investigation to a different level minimizing errors and false criminal justice convictions.
Like any other technology, DNA technology also has its cons, which must be monitored and prevented at all costs. One of the major setbacks is the privacy violation, especially when the information is not stored in secure places while in the lab or database; the samples must also be run several times using different samples to ensure high accuracy levels. The process of coming up with precise and reliable results is complex and tedious with the need for special skills and expertise for interpretation; DNA samples are very delicate and can easily be destroyed during the collection hence the call for carefulness and concentration during the process. The advantages and benefits of DNA technology outweigh its disadvantages, hence the extensive global adoption and preference.
In summary, DNA technology has helped improve how criminal cases are handled from various parts of the world. It has played a vital role in restoring trust in the courts and pursuing fair judgment and conviction in the society; its adoption has seen the disappearance of unlawful conviction in related cases. DNA technology stands out to be one of the most important technological inventions in society; it serves without disparity to both the rich and poor. The subject technology has restored happiness in families which had since lost hope in their missing and lost loved ones. It is only good enough for more research and studies to be done on the subject to ensure minimization of cons that come with its usage, thereby ensuring its full utilization in society. DNA technology is the way to go in ensuring fair and detailed solution in criminal justice cases globally; it should therefore be made available for all countries irrespective of their economic developments
References
Assini, J. M., Deyo, M., Galarneau, E., Hogan, S. P., & Wallace, K. F. (2019). Investigation & Litigation: How Agencies’ Use of Surveillance Technologies, including Wire-Tapping, Impact Current Criminal Investigation and How the Use of DNA Has Propelled the Criminal Justice System into the 21st Century.
Chakravarty, M., Singh, N., Varshney, D., Sharma, D., Kumar, N., Shukla, S. K., … & Pandya, P. (2018). Relevance of DNA Fingerprinting Technology in Criminal Justice System: Case Studies in DNA Profiling.
García, Ó., Crespillo, M., & Yurrebaso, I. (2017). Suspects identification through “familial searching” in DNA databases of criminal interest. Social, ethical and scientific implications. Spanish Journal of Legal Medicine, 43(1), 26-34.
Hanganu, B., Velnic, A. A., Manoilescu, I. S., & Ioan, B. G. (2017). Challenges to Forensic Medicine in the Postmodern Era-the Impact of the New Technologies. Postmodern Openings/Deschideri Postmoderne, 8(3).
Machado, H., & Granja, R. (2020). DNA Technologies in Criminal Investigation and Courts. In Forensic Genetics in the Governance of Crime (pp. 45-56). Palgrave Pivot, Singapore.
Machado, H., & Granja, R. (2020). Emerging DNA technologies and stigmatization. Forensic Genetics in the Governance of Crime, 85-104.
Machado, H., & Silva, S. (2019). What influences public views on forensic DNA testing in the criminal field? A scoping review of quantitative evidence. Human genomics, 13(1), 1-13.
Rigano, C. (2019). Using artificial intelligence to address criminal justice needs. National Institute of Justice Journal, 280,
Schmitt, S., & Mazoori, D. (2017). Jurisdiction, Privacy, and Ownership: DNA Technology and Field Dynamics in Conflict-Related Mass Fatalities. Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal, 11(1), 8.
Toom, V., Wienroth, M., M’charek, A., Prainsack, B., Williams, R., Duster, T., … & Murphy, E. (2016). Approaching ethical, legal and social issues of emerging forensic DNA phenotyping (FDP) technologies comprehensively: Reply to ‘Forensic DNA phenotyping: Predicting human appearance from crime scene material for investigative purposes’ by Manfred Kayser. Forensic Science International: Genetics, 22, e1-e4.
