The Identification of a Criminal Mind - Essay Example

The Identification of a Criminal Mind Criminals at their core are very unique creatures. They seek to achieve what it is they want, through whatever means necessary and often times take measures that cause harm to those around them in one form or another. A criminal in the sense of the word is someone that, despite the explicitly set forth laws of the land, chooses to live and behave by their own set rules. Up until the latter part of the 20th century, it was common place that criminals were able to escape being found, let alone facing prosecution for their crimes, due to the lack of technological resources available to investigators in their quest to bring unlawful participants to justice. Just as many other things have during the course of the last decade, the technological advancement in the pursuit of legal justice has been astonishing. Never before in history have investigators had tools at their disposal to solve a case and as such, giving the victim(s) some much needed closure for healing and getting the sense of justice which is entitled to them. With all of this advancement, each innovation in its own right played an instrumental role in crime solving. In that case, two of the specific advancements in technology to observe are DNA Analysis and the use of Intra-agency databases for DNA. DNA plays such a crucial role in legal matters with the fact that it is a genetic picture of a person. DNA is defined as, "Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms and some viruses. The main role of DNA molecules is the long-term storage of information. DNA is often compared to a set of blueprints, since it contains the instructions needed to construct other components of cells, such as proteins and RNA molecules. The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in regulating the use of this genetic information," ("DNA" p.1). As for how exactly forensic experts can use DNA in their investigations, the online Encyclopedia Wikipedia answers this further down in their discussion on the subject of DNA and the multiple roles in which it can play a part. "Forensic scientists can use DNA in blood, semen, skin, saliva or hair at a crime scene to identify a perpetrator. This process is called genetic fingerprinting, or more accurately, DNA profiling. In DNA profiling, the lengths of variable sections of repetitive DNA, such as short tandem repeats and minisatellites, are compared between people. This method is usually an extremely reliable technique for identifying a criminal.[104] However, identification can be complicated if the scene is contaminated with DNA from several people.[105] DNA profiling was developed in 1984 by British geneticist Sir Alec Jeffreys,[106] and first used in forensic science to convict Colin Pitchfork in the 1988 Enderby murders case.[107] People convicted of certain types of crimes may be required to provide a sample of DNA for a database. This has helped investigators solve old cases where only a DNA sample was obtained from the scene. DNA profiling can also be used to identify victims of mass casualty incidents, [108" ("DNA" p.1). An advantage for the use of DNA Analysis and by extension having Intra-agency databases for DNA is that DNA itself acts as a blueprint for the criminal who chose to commit the crime in the first place and with tools for analysis and a database to maintain the information achieved through the study of the DNA, investigators will be able to maintain a cohesive list of DNA evidence from criminal cases which may otherwise have been far more difficult to have solved had it not been for the technology in the first place. Within recent years, many people have been freed from jail after spending numerous years behind bars for crimes that, had the technology been there at the time of trial; they would not have been convicted in the first place. "DNA fingerprinting' or DNA typing (profiling) as it is now known, was first described in 1985 by an English geneticist named Alec Jeffreys. Dr. Jeffreys found that certain regions of DNA contained DNA sequences that were repeated over and over again next to each other. He also discovered that the number of repeated sections present in a sample could differ from individual to individual. By developing a technique to examine the length variation of these DNA repeat sequences, Dr. Jeffreys created the ability to perform human identity tests," Adding further that, "These DNA repeat regions became known as VNTRs, which stands for variable number of tandem repeats. The technique used by Dr. Jeffreys to examine the VNTRs was called restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) because it involved the use of a restriction enzyme to cut the regions of DNA surrounding the VNTRs. This RFLP method was first used to help in an English immigration case and shortly thereafter to solve a double homicide case. Since that time, human identity testing using DNA typing methods has been widespread. The past 15 years have seen tremendous growth in the use of DNA evidence in crime scene investigations as well as paternity testing. Today over 150 public forensic laboratories and several dozen private paternity testing laboratories conduct hundreds of thousands of DNA testannually in the United States. In addition, most countries in Europe and Asia have forensic DNA programs. The number of laboratories around the world conducting DNA testing will continue to grow as the technique gains in popularity within the law enforcement community," ("History" p.1). As for the possible disadvantages that would come with DNA data banking, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory provides what they feel are a sampling of the risks that may come with such technology. Those are, (1) Arrestees often are found innocent of crimes. The retention of innocent people's DNA raises significant ethical and social issues. (2) If people's DNA s in police databases, they might be identified s matches or partial matches to DNA found at crime scenes. (3) Sensitive genetic information, such as family relationships and disease susceptibility, can be obtained from DNA samples. Police, forensic science services, and researchers using the database have access to people's DNA without their consent. This can be seen as an intrusion of personal privacy and a violation of civil liberties. (4) Studies of the United Kingdom's criminal database which retains the DNA samples of all suspects, show that ethnic minorities are over represented in the population of arrestees and are, therefore, overrepresented in the criminal DNA database. This raises the concern of an institutionalized ethnic bias in the criminal justice system. Lastly, (5) Even the most secure database has a chance of being compromised. ("Forensics" p.1) In light of the fact that there has been such discovery as it comes to forensics in the solving of criminal cases, it can be said that like with anything else, there still is yet more to be done through the means of continued research. So that, while actual criminals are being prosecuted and sentenced, it does not become a case of innocent people being sent down a path of judgment which they otherwise would not have been based on a fault in the information that was gathered. After all, it is said that the judicial process, or at least the one throughout the United States, is based on a sentiment of the idea of "innocent until proven guilty." To elaborate this, "The maxim 'innocent until proven guilty' has assumed significance in legal scholarship, colloquial conversation, and the media; indeed the concept resonates with American society," Further stating that, "Its prominence in popular and legal culture reflects society's concern for balancing the constitutional guarantee of liberty with the government's duty to secure the well-being its citizens," ("Privacy" p.1). Privacy and civil liberties are integral to the foundation for which the United States was built upon from the beginning. As the previous source states, there is a delicate balance between the protection of the civil liberties of Americans, while on the other hand not impeding in any way the criminal tracking, leading to conviction, of those who wish to perform such acts that go against the laws for which the country prides itself upon. All those who are to be brought forward to the judicial system are guaranteed due process as a way in which, to the best of one's natural ability, the 'accused' is given the opportunity of a fair trial and at the end of it, they are convicted if, without a reasonable doubt, they did in fact commit the crime. A safety measure in which, if the person in question did not commit the crime, will ultimately not end up spending many years behind bars as so many innocent people have had to do based on legal circumstances that were out of their control at the time. As crimes continue to be committed, it becomes even more imperative to have a system in place that enables law enforcement investigators to go about the search for answers to crimes which, without such technology, they would most surely not have been able to solve as quickly, if at all. That being said, citizens are entitled to their civil liberties not being infringed upon as those rights are outlined for a reason. Many people in the late 20th century, especially during the 1990s, were released from prison for crimes that they did not commit. Their release has been primarily based on the use of more advanced DNA technology which enabled their cases to be overturned once discovered through DNA samples that they were not there to begin with and as such could not have committed the crime in the first place. A strong recommendation in the current use of DNA Analysis, as a companion also the use of DNA databases, is that security measures need to be in place, so that only essential legal personnel are the ones who have access to such information. Those who wish to exploit the database system should be susceptible to the strictest form of punishment possible as that the information which they are stealing was given as means of investigative research, but not intended for the sinister intentions of someone who may only want the information so that they may exact revenge or their own form of justice upon whomever they have found through assessing the compiled information on the database. What most would describe as 'vigilante justice', or more plainly revenge, serves no purpose in criminal investigation and data retrieval. Real problems can arise if those who have access to the information do not, or choose not, to understand that very fact. A common concern for many, especially more so after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, is whether or not the practice of racial profiling is just or not as it comes to prosecuting possible illegal activity. That being said, racial profiling can also occur unfortunately when it comes to DNA databases if the information falls into the hands of someone who wishes to do someone else harm with the information they have obtained through access. Racial profiling, just as is the case with any other illegal act, can be a violation of someone's individual rights and seen as if there is a stereotype for one nationality compared to another. Unjust prejudice can hamper the prosecution of a case, meaning that precaution is necessary in the compiling of information, so that cases are being solved and no other crimes are being committed while in the pursuit of justice. Victims, on the one hand, deserve vindication for the wrongs done upon them. In the end though, all individuals have a natural right to due process, with the resulting conclusion being the protection from wrongful conviction and persecution of society at large. References "DNA Forensics: Potential Advantages and Disadvantages of Banking Arrestee DNA." Source: Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Managed by the UT Battelle for the Department of Energy. Viewed online: 30 March 2008. URL: www.ornl.gov/ Sci/techresources/Human_Genome/elsi/forensics.shtml#7. Harlan, Leigh M. "When Privacy Fails: Invoking Property Paradigm to Mandate the Destruction of DNA Samples." Source: Duke Law Journal, Vol. 54. Year published: 2004. URL: http://www.questia/com/googleScholar.qst docId=5008838172. "History of Forensic DNA Analysis." Source: President's DNA Initiative: Advancing Justice Through DNA Technology. Viewed online: 29 March 2008. URL: http://www.dna.gov/basics/analysishistory/ Wikipedia: The Online Encyclopedia. "DNA". Accessed online: 29 March 2008. URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA Read More