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DNA Testing in Criminal Justice - Background, Current Law, Grants and Issues (Paperback)
Loot Price: R414
Discovery Miles 4 140
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DNA Testing in Criminal Justice - Background, Current Law, Grants and Issues (Paperback)
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Loot Price R414
Discovery Miles 4 140
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Deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, is the fundamental building block
for an individual's entire genetic makeup. DNA is a powerful tool
for law enforcement investigations because each person's DNA is
different from that of every other individual (except for identical
twins). DNA can be extracted from a number of sources, such as
hair, bone, teeth, saliva, and blood. As early as the 1980s, states
began enacting laws that required collecting DNA samples from
offenders convicted of certain sexual and other violent crimes. The
samples were then analyzed and their profiles entered into state
databases. Meanwhile, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
Laboratory convened a working group of federal, state, and local
forensic scientists to establish guidelines for the use of forensic
DNA analysis in laboratories. The group proposed guidelines that
are the basis of current national quality assurance standards, and
it urged the creation of a national DNA database. The criminal
justice community began to utilize DNA analyses more often in
criminal investigations and trials, and in 1994 Congress enacted
legislation to authorize the creation of a national DNA database.
Federal law (42 U.S.C 14132(a)) authorizes the FBI to operate and
maintain a national DNA database where DNA profiles generated from
samples collected from people under applicable legal authority and
samples collected at crime scenes can be compared to generate leads
in criminal investigations. Statutory provisions also authorize the
collection of DNA samples from federal offenders and arrestees,
District of Columbia offenders, and military offenders. State laws
dictate which convicted offenders, and sometimes people arrested
for crimes, will have profiles entered into state DNA databases,
while federal law dictates the scope of the national database.
Increasing awareness of the power of DNA to solve crimes has
resulted in increased demand for DNA analysis, which has resulted
in a backlog of casework. Some jurisdictions have started to use
their DNA databases for familial searching, which involves using
offender profiles to identify relatives who might be perpetrators
of crimes. In addition to solving crimes, DNA analysis can help
exonerate people incarcerated for crimes they did not commit.
Congress has authorized several grant programs to provide
assistance to state and local governments for forensic sciences.
Many of the programs focus on providing state and local governments
with funding to reduce the backlog of forensic and convicted
offender DNA samples waiting to be processed and entered into the
national database. Since FY2006, Congress has appropriated
approximately $785 million for backlog reduction and laboratory
capacity enhancement programs. However, other grant programs
provide funding for related purposes, such as offsetting the cost
of providing post-conviction DNA testing. In the 1990s and the
early part of the last decade, most of the debate in Congress
focused on the scope of DNA databases, reducing the backlog of DNA
casework, and providing access to post conviction DNA testing. Most
of the debate about the scope of DNA databases faded away with the
enactment of the Violence Against Women and Department of Justice
Reauthorization Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-162), which expanded federal
collection statutes to include anyone arrested or detained under
the authority of the United States. The act also expanded the scope
of the national database to include DNA profiles of individuals
arrested for state crimes. However, concerns about the backlog of
DNA casework and access to post-conviction testing have persisted.
In addition, new issues related to the use of DNA in criminal
justice have emerged, including whether (1) DNA databases should be
used to conduct familial searches, (2) sexual assault evidence
collection kits (i.e., "rape kits") should be standardized, and (3)
there should be national accreditation standards for forensic
laboratories.
General
Imprint: |
Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Release date: |
March 2013 |
First published: |
March 2013 |
Authors: |
Nathan James
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Dimensions: |
280 x 216 x 3mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Paperback - Trade
|
Pages: |
52 |
ISBN-13: |
978-1-4827-6455-0 |
Categories: |
Books >
Law >
Laws of other jurisdictions & general law >
Criminal law
|
LSN: |
1-4827-6455-5 |
Barcode: |
9781482764550 |
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