Genetic policing : the use of DNA in chemical investigations / Robin Williams and Paul Johnson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Williams, Robin, 1946-

Contributor:

Johnson, Paul, 1943-

Class of 1891 Department of Arts Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

DNA fingerprinting--Great Britain.

DNA fingerprinting.

Criminal investigation--Great Britain.

Criminal investigation.

Great Britain.

Physical Description:

x, 198 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Cullompton, UK ; Portland, Or. : Willan, 2008.

Summary:

This book is about the increasing significance of DNA profiling for crime investigation in modern societies. It charts the historical development and rapid incorporation of DNA identification technologies within the criminal justice systems of a growing number of countries throughout the world and focuses attention on the UK as the world-leader in the forensic application of DNA. The authors provide the first sociohistorical overview of the construction and deployment of the UK's National DNA Database (NDNAD), and consider the implications of genetic profiling and databasing for the administration of criminal justice.

The book, drawing upon an extensive three-year research project looking at police uses of the NDNAD, describes the complex and shifting relationships between scientific knowledge and police investigations that have shaped the forensic applications of DNA profiling. It is illustrated throughout by reference to some of the major UK criminal cases in which DNA evidence has been presented and contested.

Chapters in the book explain the scientific developments which have enabled DNA profiling to be applied to criminal investigation and the ways in which the state has directed these developments; how genetic technology has risen to such pre-eminence within criminal justice systems; how DNA profiling and databasing moved from being used to support individual prosecutions to playing a major role in new forms of intelligence-led policing; and how legislative change supporting the NDNAD has been the mechanism through which these new operational uses have been made possible.

The authors examine the ways in which the DNA Expansion Programme, built on the supposed potential for the NDNAD to contribute to criminal detection, has been incorporated into a broader crime reduction strategy, and explore the implications for policing, governance and security of the continued growth in the range and scope of the NDNAD.

Contents:

1 Introducing forensic DNA profiling and databasing 1

Approaching the NDNAD 6

The politics of 'crime management' 8

DNA profiling and due process 11

DNA evidence 17

The research 18

2 The technology of social order 19

Individuation, identification and social order 20

The criminal body 25

The new biometrics 29

Under the skin 32

3 From 'genetic fingerprint' to 'genetic profile' 37

Scientific innovation and its investigative application 38

First police use of DNA - the 'Pitchfork' case 41

UK government investment in research and development 45

DNA and UK forensic science 47

4 Criminalistics and forensic genetics 59

Crime scene examination, physical evidence and forensic intelligence 60

Sources and amounts of biological material 62

Scientific innovations 67

5 Populating the NDNAD - inclusion and contestation 77

Technological innovation and legal context 78

Finding a subject: making the NDNAD in law 82

The end of innocence: extending NDNAD inclusion 87

Contesting the law: privacy, discrimination and the Human Rights Act 92

Conclusion: the reconfigured criminal body 97

6 Using DNA effectively 101

Police, forensic science and the new public management 101

The rise of intelligence-led policing 105

Using physical evidence - research and evidence 109

Establishing effective uses of the NDNAD 111

The expansion programme 115

7 Governing the NDNAD 127

Governing the NDNAD: the 'Memorandum of Understanding' 128

Contemporary 'principles' of governance 130

Juridico-scientific accountability 131

Administrative accountability 134

Civic accountability 136

8 Current developments and emerging trends 143

Database futures: changing the inclusion regime 144

Data-sharing and exchange 154.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 171-185) and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Class of 1891 Department of Arts Fund.

ISBN:

9781843922056

1843922053

1843922045

9781843922049

OCLC:

85691829