What about DNA database?

Evidence from different crime scenes can be compared to link the same perpetrator to multiple offences, whether the crimes took place locally, across the country, or halfway around the world. It can also identify a victim through DNA from close relatives.

— Excerpt of article published in the Newsday on February 11, 2007 The jury is still out on the DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) Bill which was laid in Parliament on January 26, 2007 and which proposes to repeal and replace the DNA Identification Act 2000. Section 1 (2) of the Act declared that it would come into force “on a date to be fixed by the President by proclamation.” But up to 2007 this had not happened, leaving the Act, which contains provisions for the police to get a sample of bodily tissue from criminal suspects with and without consent, dead in the water.

In March 2004, Independent Senator Dana Seetahal SC, now deceased, asked the Minister of National Security, Senator Martin Joseph, also now deceased, why the Act had not yet been proclaimed.

He said in response: “The proclamation of the DNA Act 2000 is dependent on the achievement of a state of technical readiness by the Forensic Science Centre and the completion of regulations to give effect to the Act.

“The director of the centre has advised that it should attain readiness by April 2004. With regard to the enabling regulations ... it is anticipated that the exercise will be completed by the end of March 2004.” The use of forensic DNA analysis in solving crime is proving to be as revolutionary as the introduction of fingerprint evidence in court more than a century ago. Canadian police have been using forensic DNA evidence for little more than a decade, and it has emerged as one of the most powerful tools available to law enforcement agencies. DNA analysis is the next generation of human identification in the science of police investigations and is considered a major enhancement for the safety of all Canadians.

Similarly in the UK, the National DNA Database has proved to be a valuable tool in the fight against crime.

If a match is made between a DNA profile at a crime scene and a DNA profile on the database, it can help police to quickly identify a possible suspect. They can then use this information as strong evidence to demonstrate an individual’s guilt of a crime.

In the UK, searching the database to find a DNA profile match helps identify a suspect in around 60 per cent of cases.

Information can be shared between databases in different countries to help identify criminals who commit crimes in more than one country.

It is easier to travel internationally enabling potential criminals to escape police and conviction.

A DNA database may help to keep track of criminals around the world.

Keeping a national DNA database is financially viable since the time and money saved through quickly identifying suspects through DNA evidence greatly outweigh the financial expense of keeping a DNA database.

DNA profiling may be more objective and accurate than other forensic disciplines that rely on subjective judgments and interpretations.

The chance that two unrelated people have identical DNA profiles is less than one in one billion.

The DNA database is not intended to replace conventional criminal investigations but to complement them by identifying suspects sooner.

It would be informative if the present status of the establishment of a DNA database in Trinidad and Tobago, first conceived more than 15 years ago, be made known to the public.