as proposed DNA Being credited with solving the growing pile of technology cold Case murders in United States of americaBut some Canadian police forces are lagging their US counterparts in adopting new methods.
Experts say a research technique called genetic genealogy — which involves comparing DNA from a crime scene to vast amounts of public data uploaded to private platforms like Ancestry.com and 23andme — can help decades-old murders. Indicates the best chance of solving.
However, some Canadian police are slow to adopt it because of privacy concerns and because it has yet to be tested in Canada’s court system.
Diane Seguin, head of biology and DNA for Quebec’s Forensic Lab, said the province is starting to apply genetic pedigree to some “very high-profile cases” in partnership with police and prosecutors, which in a final test will prove its worth. Will be responsible for defending. ,
“We’re starting to use those technologies in Canada, because the legal side isn’t really clear,” Seguin said in an interview this week.
With genetic pedigrees, a match to a distant relative’s public profile can be used by genealogists to construct a family tree and identify the suspect, which can then be investigated by traditional policing methods.
The technique has been used several times in Canada—notably to solve the 1984 murder of nine-year-old Christine Jessop in Ontario. That case was solved with the help of Texas-based forensic lab Othrum, which has also helped identify decades-old remains in Regina and Edmonton.
Woman found dead in Trinity-Bellewoods Park in 2020 identified as a result of DNA testing
However, genetic ancestry has not yet been conclusively tested in a Canadian court because most of those identified were deceased.
The RCMP says they are working to develop a national policy on the use of genetic pedigree that respects Canadian laws protecting privacy. Sergeant Caroline Duvall wrote in an email that the RCMP is working with partners, including the Canadian Privacy Commissioner’s Office, Legal Services and the RCMP Forensic Lab, to assess the feasibility of using the technology.
“Should a Canadian case go through the court system with a genealogical DNA component, the decisions given may also impact how police use this investigative technology moving forward and the development of national and departmental policies,” Duval wrote.
In the meantime, local RCMP contingents can access commercial laboratory and database services “provided they comply with the laboratories’ terms of service and privacy policies currently in force,” Duval said.
Brenda McPhail, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association’s director of privacy, technology and surveillance, says there are many privacy concerns surrounding police use of DNA, which she describes as “our most intimate and sensitive information.”
He said in an interview on Thursday that people who upload their DNA to public sites often want to know more about their family history and have no idea how the information can be used by law enforcement. .
Even if they check the box allowing information to be made public, “Can they give meaningful consent in a situation where they are not only consenting to use of their information but Using your information in a way that can include others in his family?” he asked.
McPhail said he is aware of a case involving genetic pedigree before the Ontario courts, which is not yet concluded, but could set precedent. More broadly, she said, talks are needed about how advanced DNA and other powerful surveillance technologies can be used by police forces and how to balance privacy and the desire to solve crimes.
Meanwhile, Seguin said the technology may not yield as many results in Canada as it does in the US because Canadians don’t upload their DNA to public websites as often as Americans do, which means investigators don’t have access to samples. Has a small pool.
Still, she said the Quebec lab is moving forward in using new techniques to solve cold cases. Seguin said the lab, which handles all of the forensic work of police forces across the province, works on about 50 cold cases per year.
Lab technicians sometimes re-examine decades-old evidence with better technology to try to extract DNA — though doing so is complicated by the fact that police sloppy work can contaminate samples, she said. .
Seguin said the lab has also acquired a tool for phenotyping — which helps identify possible physical characteristics such as hair, skin and eye color — from a DNA sample. The lab has a genealogy on staff to reconstruct family trees, he said, adding that it is also building its own database that matches DNA with certain surnames.
While the process may seem slow, she said that just because a cold case isn’t being resolved right away, doesn’t mean it won’t.
Any DNA belonging to a suspect is uploaded to a database and remains permanently on file waiting to match — either from a newly arrested criminal or from a profile uploaded to a public site, Seguin said.
He said police in the province continue to solve chronic crimes through traditional DNA extraction – with many more likely to come given the rapid technological advances happening all the time.
“We are at a turning point, right now, in my point of view,” she said. “We are just beginning a new era in DNA testing.”
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