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The FBI has begun permitting police investigators to pursue some
criminal suspects by tracking the DNA of close relatives who
have been convicted of other offenses, according to USA Today.
The first case of sharing such information between states
involved an Oregon felon whose DNA profile showed that he is a
"likely" close relative of a man who sexually assaulted a Denver
woman in 2003.
Denver investigators plan to use the information as an
"investigative lead" to identify the Denver suspect. Civil
liberties advocates are contesting the practice as an intrusion
of privacy. According to USA Today, Florida state
officials have already used a type of near-match searching to
identify eight rapists whose DNA had been taken in connection
with other crimes when they compared the DNA profiles of babies
born to rape victims to the convicts' DNA to identify the
babies' fathers.
Sources:
“DNA database can flag suspects through relatives,” USA Today,
August 22, 2006.
“FBI shares near match DNA with police,” UPI Top Stories, August
23, 2006. |
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