Phil’s Diary - [Blog @ http://www.philsdiary.net/]
Someone high up in the police has suggested that DNA sampling should be made compulsory. That is, everyone in the country should be obliged to give a sample. These are then used to solve crimes.
The two concerns raised, one by the chap himself and one by another expert are both valid.
Commercial use of this could really change society. With the wrong DNA you could well find yourself disadvantaged from the outset with no way of getting around it. Likewise you may find it hard to get a job, and with nothing you can do about it. Assuming the data stayed within the police force only and was not released, fine.
The other area of concern is this chaps views. If he is right, and DNA isn’t as conclusive as suggested, then juries should be made well aware of this, and the evidence treated as such.
What it would be great for is to catch those who have committed a crime, quickly and easily, and perhaps from there on gain enough evidence so that the DNA result is a small part of the evidence against.
Posted by Phil on September 08, 2003 10:28 AM | Categories: Holiday