Time to use DNA to solve crime

THE EDITOR: Everyday in our newspapers we read the sorry state our nation has become. If it’s not another robbery, murder or kidnapping, its the rape of a young woman. Trinidad and Tobago has indeed become an unsafe place, yet our Prime Minister reassures us that foreign investment has not been affected. That can be easily understood if you realise that there are millions (if not billions) of dollars to be gained by these investors, primarily in the energy sector. From offices in New York and Chicago, they nor their investments are affected by what happens to the common man.

It is the local investor who is thinking twice. If before they were thinking of what security measures to take and how much to spend, now they are thinking of how soon to sell out and which shores to flee to.  It is the local businessman who creates sustainable employment, not the Government, nor foreign investor. And these are the very people who are being targetted by criminals. Who in their right mind would now think of starting a small business in Trinidad and Tobago? There are too many examples of what can happen to businessmen and their families.  Recently, a young businessman was shot and killed.  Others have been kidnapped or robbed (again).

In this half-made/half-baked society, it is not the increase in murders, kidnapping and rape that infuriates, but the lack of implementation of existing crime legislation. To introduce new counter measures and assist in the detection of crime, the DNA Identification Act was passed in 2000. This would allow DNA samples to be taken from persons charged with an offence, matched with DNA found at a crime scene, and produced as evidence in a court of law as a means of proving innocence or guilt. To date, this critical piece of legislation has not been implemented. No equipment bought, no personnel trained. Imagine how many crimes could be solved if it were mandatory for all adults to submit a sample of DNA, to be held in a national database. One particular crime that would be solved immediately would be rape. Murders, and even kidnappings can be solved with the aid of this legislation. It is therefore surprising, if not shocking that the Government has not made any move to implement the DNA Identification Act. Please tell us why.

Wayne Jaggernauth
Research Associate,
Wolfson School,
Loughborough University
Leciestershire, UK