Law Enforcement and Their Use of Genetics

Genetics, we have heard that word in science researches that are shared by the news, or you have heard it randomly, but what does it mean? Genetics is the study and analysis of the DNA, its sequence and how it changes the humans health, how the DNA is shared from parents to their offspring. A powerful tool when it comes to diagnose diseases in a patient before it becomes a bigger threat to their health, or to predict the results of certain medical procedures in a person, or how a certain drug will affect the body. We can’t deny how useful the application of genetics is for today’s society. However, there are also concerns about how genetics are used, particularly how law enforcement departments use it, and whether or not public consent is being considered. 

My AncentryDNA, GEDmatch, Myheritage, Findmypast, are some of the companies that use genetics. They collect DNA samples and test it in their labs, they can analyze the samples and return to their customers a summary of what their DNA says about who their real parents are, and their risk of getting diseases that concern everyone such as cancer, parkinson, diabetes etc.  What some of this companies don’t tell the public is that their DNA sample is sometimes shared with drug companies or for private researches, AncentryDNA and 23andme for example “both share anonymized genetic data with outside researchers and companies.” (Hart)

Some might say that the amount of people sending their DNA to this companies is insignificant to affect them but the truth is that it is enough if only one person in your family shares their information, there are approximately 50 DNA testing kits on the market, “By the start of 2019, more than 26 million consumers had added their DNA to four leading commercial ancestry and health databases, according to our estimates” ( Regalado) This means a person can indirectly be affected by how this information is shared.

As people are concerned about DNA being shared for medical use and drug research, there is also the concern about how these DNA testing companies share their database with the law enforcement departments. The use of genetics by the authorities has increased over the years, as it has shown how useful it can be to track down criminals and suspects the police has used it in many cases but it grabbed the attention of the public when it helped to solve cold cases from decades ago “In a landmark case, this technique was used to identify the notorious Golden State Killer, leading to his arrest in 2018.” (NIH) a case that happened from 1976 to 1986 was solved as someone uploaded their DNA sample into GEDmatch, a service which is used to compare DNA data files from different DNA testing companies. The use of genetics by the police department has proven efficient. But it isn’t always used with consent.

In 2013 in Maryland v. King,  the U.S. The Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision that allows law enforcement to collect DNA of any suspects and people who are arrested by any law enforcement department. This means that your DNA information can be collected without consent in case you are arrested whether you are guilty or not “your DNA can be taken and entered into a national database if you are ever arrested, rightly or wrongly, and for whatever reason.” (Justice Scalia). 

Next, not only are the number of companies that collect DNA data increasing but also the number of people who use the services they provide. Only in New York has the number increased since 2000. By 2017 the number was already 64,343 DNA profiles collected from New York City only.  

The DNA test kits are not only provided to the US, “Ancestry DNA…It is now sold in 36 countries. The 23andMe test is sold in just over 50 countries. The other companies ship to most countries in the world.” making the database go over 30 million profiles around the world. This means If the US law enforcement departments have already started to use this information to find criminals, and it is just a matter of time for when other governments will start doing the same. 

In addition , “In January 2019 the DTC genetic testing company FamilyTreeDNA (FTDNA) announced that it was testing samples for the FBI and allowing them to upload profiles to its database” (Kennett). Information was being shared without consent, and none of the parties involved were informing the person who deserved to know. What would you do if you suddenly find out your DNA information was being shared to others to use the information for other purposes not related to what the information was meant to be used for? Well, a survey was conducted. The survey included 1587 US residents  and they were asked about what information and resources were correct and between the bounds of privacy for the law enforcement to use when it comes to solving criminal investigations. 

If we look into the questions concerning genetics, the majority of people who took the survey agrees about law enforcement use of already mentioned databases to prosecute suspects of violent crimes 97%, missing person 91%, and crimes relating children 89%, on the other side, less than 50% agreed that it was fine for the law enforcement to use this type of resources when it comes to investigate non-violent crimes. In other words, people agree that the use of genetics by law enforcement is useful and should only be used as a resource in more extreme cases. 

In conclusion, the use of genetics by the law enforcement has been controversial because of the information kept from those who DNA belongs to, on the other hand the public agrees on the use of it as long as it is used carefully and only in extreme cases where the best option will be to use it. The use and share of DNA profiles is a market that will keep increasing not only in the US but also in the world. As it offers help that without argument is help we need, the best option will be to regulate the market, so it can be used properly and all parties are informed about it. 

Work Cited

Givens, Ann, et al. “In New York City, Gun Cases Fuel Growing, Unregulated DNA Database.” The Trace, 25 September 2017, https://www.thetrace.org/2017/09/new-york-city-gun-crime-dna-database/. Accessed 17 October 2022.

Guerrini, Christi J. “Should police have access to genetic genealogy databases? Capturing the Golden State Killer and other criminals using a controversial new forensic technique.” PLOS, 2 October 2018, https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.2006906. Accessed 17 November 2022.

Hart, Kim. “How companies like Ancestry and 23andMe share your data.” Axios, 25 February 2019, https://www.axios.com/2019/02/25/dna-test-results-privacy-genetic-data-sharing. Accessed 17 November 2022.

“Investigative Genomics.” National Human Genome Research Institute (NHI), 9 May 2021, https://www.genome.gov/about-genomics/policy-issues/Investigative-Genomics. Accessed 17 November 2022.

Kennett, Debbie. “Using genetic genealogy databases in missing persons cases and to develop suspect leads in violent crimes.” August 2019, https://www-sciencedirect-com.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/science/article/pii/S0379073819302014. Accessed October 28 2022.

Regalado, Antonio. “More than 26 million people have taken an at-home ancestry test.” MIT Technology Review, 11 February 2019, https://www.technologyreview.com/2019/02/11/103446/more-than-26-million-people-have-taken-an-at-home-ancestry-test/. Accessed 11 November 2022.