A study of Spanish attitudes regarding the custody and use of forensic DNA databases

doi:10.1016/j.fsigen.2007.10.201

Forensic Science International: Genetics

Volume 2, Issue 2, March 2008, Pages 138-149

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fsigen.2007.10.201 Get rights and content

Abstract

One of the issues that has resulted in much disagreement in many countries at different levels concerns the kind of institution that should be given the responsibility of exercising custody over biological samples and the DNA profiles obtained from these samples.

In the field of forensic genetics, there is no doubt that the existence of DNA criminal databases benefits the control and investigation of crime. However, certain criticism, supported to a great extent by the particular vision of genetic exceptionalism has been aimed at the ethical and social consequences resulting from the inappropriate use of such databases.

In this sense, it was stated that the support of the population was required for those regulations that propose the extension of police powers in the collection and storage of biological samples, as well as their corresponding DNA analyses.

We believe that the opinion poll which has been carried out among the Spanish population may serve to reveal the public attitudes/criteria which society has with regard to those institutions responsible for the custody of DNA profile databases. Finally, it must be pointed out that when the interviewees were asked about what institution or institutions should protect and maintain data confidentiality 59.7% considered that custody should remain in the hands of the National Agency for DNA Profiles (a judicially backed, autonomous public institution).

Introduction

We cannot ignore the usefulness that genetic information has provided and that it continues to provide when concerned with identifying purposes. In this sense, mention must be made of the relevance that the analysis of the polymorphisms of decoded DNA has gained in Justice Departments. This could concern either criminal trials, where there may be biological traces of the perpetrator of the criminal offence, the place or the instrument used in the crime. However, the development of this type of test has been significantly influenced by the differences that exist between the established legal systems [1].

In their efforts to create DNA profile data banks that would help solve cases that remained unsolved by the justice administration, many countries did not pay much attention to questions concerning quality control in laboratories, security measures and the right to privacy, freedom, equality and non-discrimination as well as to the institutions that must safeguard such rights [2], [3].

It is important that the above-mentioned circumstances are taken into account in reforms in legislation that certain authors consider necessary, or that they are included in new legislation pending promulgation.

In the field of Forensic Genetics, there is no doubt that the existence of DNA criminal databases benefits the control and investigation of crime. However, certain criticism, supported to a great extent by the particular vision of genetic exceptionalism [4], [5], [6] has been aimed at the ethical and social consequences resulting from the inappropriate use of such databases.

In this sense, due to the possibility of extending the inclusion criteria of DNA profiles kept in databases of a criminal nature, some authors have even stated that such tendency might be understood by the population in general as a mechanism of biovigilance or excessive state control over the population [6], [7], [8]. Likewise, it is argued that, the possibility of the Police extending its powers with regard to the collection, analysis and preservation of biological samples taken from citizens and the corresponding analyses might be considered disproportionate [6], [8].

On the other hand, in relation to the topic in hand, certain fear has been expressed when faced with the uncertainty of the agencies and institutions responsible for the custody of the genetic data obtained from the criminal databases not being subjected to strict confidentiality criteria for the transmission of such data. Likewise, concern is expressed owing to the lack of reliability and validity criteria of the DNA tests presented in judicial proceedings [6], [8], [9], [10], [11].

Finally, the need to have the population backup has also been made apparent, mainly for those regulations which propose extending the inclusion criteria of DNA profiles or enlarging the responsibilities of the Police with regard to the collection and storage of biological samples and its corresponding DNA analysis. The reason for it is that such measures could make the population express their distrust in respect of the protection that the judicial system must exercise over the citizen or it could also be interpreted as an interference or undermining of human rights and civil liberties of the individual [6], [8], [12], [13].

Without such backing, such measures may cause society to distrust the nature of the protection afforded by the legal system and be interpreted as interference in the civil liberties and human rights of the individual [6], [12], [17]. With regard to this question, some authors consider it of great interest to take into account the opinions of different social groups before adopting legal decisions related to biotechnology given that, in order to reach consensus, information should flow in two directions, Society-Science [14].

This study centres on the analysis of the opinion of a representative sample of the Spanish population with regard to the institutions that should exercise custody and protection over the DNA profiles included in criminal databases.

Likewise, some of the problems that arise due to the lack of specific legislation in Spain are analyzed. Finally, the recent approval of the “Draft Bill for DNA Identifier Databases managed by the Police”, the differences and similarities between the obtained results and the proposals contained in the text as well as those put forward by other authors are taken into account.

The opinion of this population concerning certain other questions related to DNA profiles and DNA profile databases is also taken into account.

Section snippets

Who should be responsible for the custody of a National DNA database?

One question that does not seem to have the attention it deserves, and which must be given as much consideration in forensic genetics as the nature or type of profiles that are to be included in DNA databases, is that of the institutions that are responsible for the custody of the electronic files of forensic information as they will be entrusted with the protection of the fundamental rights enjoyed by citizens in a democratic state. Consequently they will determine the adequate use of these

Materials and methods

Once the general aims of the work had been specified and the tasks to be performed had been planned, the development of the task was begun in the following order: production of an opinion questionnaire and the selection of a homogeneous group of interviewees; the selection of the sample following random criteria and the cross-section nature of the sample; the purification of non-random errors that do not concern the survey; the analysis of the data obtained, using statistical methods for their

Results

When the interviewees were asked about what institution or institutions should protect and maintain confidentiality of the data mentioned in the previous paragraph (Fig. 1), 59.7% considered that custody should remain in the hands of the National Agency for DNA Profiles, an autonomous state Institution with the judicial backing of the latter. 56.8% answered that the Institute of Legal Medicine, dependent on the Ministry of Justice, should be responsible for this, 49.6% considered that a

Discussion

With regard to which institutions or organizations should watch over the confidentiality of the stored DNA genetic profiles, the surveyed population's support (59.7%) for the National Agency for DNA Profiles (a judicially backed, autonomous and public institution dependent on the Ministry of Justice) [19] must be emphasized. Second came the Institute of Legal Medicine (56.8%), dependent on the Ministry of Justice. The aforementioned institutions were regarded as being the most appropriate for

References (29)

P.M. Schneider et al.
Criminal DNA databases: the European situation
Forensic Sci. Int.
(2001)
J.J. Gamero et al.
DNA technology application procedures in forensic practice: social and ethical conditioning (II)
A. Aparisi, El proyecto Genoma Humano: Algunas Reflexiones sobre sus Relaciones con el Derecho, Tirant lo Blanch,...
J.F. Etxebarría, Los Análisis de ADN y su Aplicación al Proceso Penal, Ed. Comares, Granada,...
T. Murray
Genetic exceptionalism and future diaries: is genetic information different from other medical information?
R. Williams et al.
Wonderment and dread: representations of DNA in ethical disputes about forensic DNA databases
New Genet. Soc.
(2004)
R. Williams et al.
Inclusiveness, effectiveness and intrusiveness: issues in the developing uses of DNA profiling in support of criminal investigations
J. Law Med. Ethics
(2005)
B. Latour
Science in Action
(1987)
R. Williams, P. Johnson, Forensic DNA Databasing: A European Perspective, Interim Report, University of Durham, UK,...
O. ÓNeil
Autonomy and Trust in Bioethics
(2002)

N. Gerlach

The Genetic Imaginary: DNA in The Canadian Criminal Justice System

(2004)

H.B. Holmes

DNA fingerprints and rape: a feminist assessment

Policy Sci.

(1994)

D.L. Kellie

Justice in the age of technology: DNA and the criminal law

Altern, Law J.

(2001)

J.J. Gamero et al.

Spanish public awareness regarding DNA profile databases in forensic genetics: what type of DNA profiles should be included?

J. Med. Ethics

(2007)

Cited by (23)

Public and family support and concerns for providing DNA to law enforcement in long-term missing person cases
2023, Science and Justice
The identification of long-term missing persons and unidentified human remains is a global challenge. Many people stay on missing persons registers, with unidentified human remains stored for extended periods in mortuaries around the world. Research exploring public and/or family support for providing DNA in long-term missing persons cases is scarce. The aims of this study were to examine whether trust in police predicted the level of support for providing DNA and explore public/family support and concerns for providing DNA in such cases. Trust in police was measured through two widely used empirical attitude scales; “The Measures of Police Legitimacy and Procedural Justice”. Support and concerns for giving DNA were measured through four hypothetical missing persons case scenarios. The results showed more positive attitudes towards police legitimacy and procedural justice significantly predicted support, with the percentage level of positive support across the four case types as follows: cases involving a long-term missing child (89%), elderly adult with dementia (83%), young adult with a history of runaway (76%), with the lowest level of support for an adult with an estranged family (73%). Participants also reported more concerns about providing DNA when the missing person circumstances involved family estrangement. Understanding levels of public/family support and concerns around providing DNA to police in missing persons cases is vital to ensure that DNA collection practices reflect what the public/family support and, wherever possible, alleviate public concerns.
Attitudes towards police use of consumer/private DNA databases in investigations
2022, Science and Justice
Citation Excerpt :
Although only 20% of the sample selected student as their primary employment status, a large number of participants reported a higher education level and therefore the results may reflect the views from educational attainment rather than that of all the general public. These factors are important as research has indicated that demographic subpopulations not only have influence over attitude and punishment orientations, but also levels of user experience and understanding of DNA [1,13,14]. Limitations in sampling, especially gender imbalances, as noted above, are common in most survey research carried out [32].
Consumer DNA products, such as databases that allow the public to explore familial relationships, have recently been used by police to assist in investigations. This has moved the collection of DNA used in criminal investigations away from the limitations of criminal databases and has opened up ethical concerns regarding privacy and consent. This study explored public attitudes and support towards police use of consumer DNA databases in investigations to assess whether different crime types or moral and attitude alignments influenced the level of public support of police using these consumer products. An international survey of 438 adults, using theory and scales pertaining specifically to retributive punishment and attitudes towards law, courts and police, found that moral alignment and attitudes did influence the level of public acceptability towards police usage of these techniques and that support did vary based on crime type. This research found that higher levels of public support was given for the most serious case types explored (sexual assault and homicide). Participant support for police access to private DNA databases by case type was as follows; 83.5% for sexual assault, 83.2% for homicide, 85.2% for identifying unidentified human remains, 62.8% for robbery and 58.9% for illicit drug related cases. Small to medium effects sizes were observed for these results. Although these findings provided context towards public attitudes, further research specific to international attitude differences and variance between serious crime types and public acceptability could further develop these findings.
DNA Databases
2022, Encyclopedia of Forensic Sciences: Volume 1-4, Third Edition
The first law enforcement DNA database for the storage and searching of electronic DNA profiles was established in England and Wales in 1995. National DNA databases are now part of routine criminal investigations and are being used by the military and internationally such as INTERPOL. Since the inception of DNA databases, they have been an important tool for identification of individuals, providing intelligence leads earlier in the investigation (forensic intelligence), linking of cases, exclusion of individuals from investigations, innocence projects, identification of repeat offenders, and solving of cold cases. However, DNA databases are a tool and require appropriate legislation/statures and policy in place for the legal and ethical use of the data. This article will discuss DNA databases technology as well as the legislation/policy and ethical considerations for a balance between the interest of the justice system to prosecute criminals and individual privacy and human rights.
Forensic DNA retention: Public perspective studies in the United Kingdom and around the world
2018, Science and Justice
Citation Excerpt :
Also, the results cannot be generalised because the study sample was not representative of the Maryland population. Gamero et al. [103–106] investigated public awareness of DNA databases in a representative sample (n = 1654) of the Spanish population in 2003. The study used a random sampling approach to recruit interviewees.
This review analysed public perspective studies on forensic DNA retention in the United Kingdom and around the world. The studies generally show strong public support for the long-term or indefinite retention of DNA from convicts and suspects. There is considerable support for the retention of DNA from all or some arrestees and potentially the entire population. This was predicated upon the belief that forensic DNA databases have crime-solving abilities, which the public rate highly. In the UK, it was found that the current Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 regime is broadly representative of the recommendations of the surveyed British public. Nevertheless, the studies highlighted a gap in forensic DNA education among the public, suggesting that public views may not be well informed. Overall, there was clear evidence of privacy concerns and the potential misuse of DNA records among the public, with a significant number opposing the retention of DNA from the innocent. It was found that most of the studies were qualitative or non-representative of the relevant population, limiting the generalisation of the results. There was also limited studies among a representative sample of primary stakeholders who are well-informed or directly exposed to the benefits, challenges and risks associated with DNA retention. A research into stakeholders rating of different forensic DNA retention regimes is therefore highly recommended. This is important because the studies suggest divergent views among criminal justice professionals and other members of the public, with the former expressing expansive views and the latter expressing restrictive views. The primary stakeholder's survey will help establish whether the relevant safeguards have been put in place to protect both public security and individual interests.
Attitudes regarding the national forensic DNA database: Survey data from the general public, prison inmates and prosecutors’ offices in the Republic of Serbia
2017, Forensic Science International: Genetics
Citation Excerpt :
On the contrary, in one Spanish study, 57.4% of examinees disagreed with, while 42.6% agreed with the nonconsensual sampling of all citizens [19]; in another study conducted in the US, the option of including all newborns in the database was the least favored (45%), with 28% of the respondents strongly opposed to the idea [18]. An additional discrepancy between these and results of others [10,12] is reflected in the finding that approximately one half of the Serbian respondents would entrust custody of the database to the Ministry of Interior, including police and security agencies. The observed dissimilarities in attitudes regarding custody and inclusion criteria could stem from different levels of exposure to the subject matter in specific countries, as well as from different levels of awareness and knowledge about the effectiveness and intrusiveness of DNA databases.
Worldwide, the establishment of national forensic DNA databases has transformed personal identification in the criminal justice system over the past two decades. It has also stimulated much debate centering on ethical issues, human rights, individual privacy, lack of safeguards and other standards. Therefore, a balance between effectiveness and intrusiveness of a national DNA repository is an imperative and needs to be achieved through a suitable legal framework.
On its path to the European Union (EU), the Republic of Serbia is required to harmonize its national policies and legislation with the EU. Specifically, Chapter 24 of the EU acquis communautaire (Justice, Freedom and Security) stipulates the compulsory creation of a forensic DNA registry and adoption of corresponding legislation. This process is expected to occur in 2016. Thus, in light of launching the national DNA database, the goal of this work is to instigate a consultation with the Serbian public regarding their views on various aspects of the forensic DNA databank. Importantly, this study specifically assessed the opinions of distinct categories of citizens, including the general public, the prosecutors’ offices staff, prisoners, prison guards, and students majoring in criminalistics. Our findings set a baseline for Serbian attitudes towards DNA databank custody, DNA sample and profile inclusion and retention criteria, ethical issues and concerns. Furthermore, results clearly demonstrate a permissive outlook of the respondents who are professional “beneficiaries” of genetic profiling and a restrictive position taken by the respondents whose genetic material has been acquired by the government.
We believe that this opinion poll will be essential in discussions regarding a national DNA database, as well as in motivating further research on the reasons behind the observed views and subsequent development of educational strategies. All of these are, in turn, expected to aid the creation of suitable legislation and to increase societal confidence that the repository will be used in the legal system without interference with individual rights and freedoms.
"Would you accept having your DNA profile inserted in the National Forensic DNA database? Why?" Results of a questionnaire applied in Portugal
2014, Forensic Science International: Genetics
Citation Excerpt :
Although the value of forensic DNA databases is recognized widely by criminal justice policymakers and legislators, there are academic, legal, and civil society groups that have reacted critically to the expansion of databanks holding genetic material for criminal investigation purposes. Critics argue that operating forensic DNA databases involves potential threats to the protection of a range of human rights, in particular liberty, autonomy, privacy, informed consent, moral and physical integrity and the presumption of innocence [13–18], and that the expansion of these databases might be perceived by the population in general as excessive state control [13,19]. Thus, a responsible forensic DNA database policy needs to find a reasonable balance between these two positions, based on the creation of a moral and ethical spectrum involving both professionals in the area of forensics and law enforcement [20] and the public [13], in particular, social groups which are less involved in genetics [21].
The creation and expansion of forensic DNA databases might involve potential threats to the protection of a range of human rights. At the same time, such databases have social benefits. Based on data collected through an online questionnaire applied to 628 individuals in Portugal, this paper aims to analyze the citizens’ willingness to donate voluntarily a sample for profiling and inclusion in the National Forensic DNA Database and the views underpinning such a decision.
Nearly one-quarter of the respondents would indicate ‘no’, and this negative response increased significantly with age and education. The overriding willingness to accept the inclusion of the individual genetic profile indicates an acknowledgement of the investigative potential of forensic DNA technologies and a relegation of civil liberties and human rights to the background, owing to the perceived benefits of protecting both society and the individual from crime. This rationale is mostly expressed by the idea that all citizens should contribute to the expansion of the National Forensic DNA Database for reasons that range from the more abstract assumption that donating a sample for profiling would be helpful in fighting crime to the more concrete suggestion that everyone (criminals and non-criminals) should be in the database. The concerns with the risks of accepting the donation of a sample for genetic profiling and inclusion in the National Forensic DNA Database are mostly related to lack of control and insufficient or unclear regulations concerning safeguarding individuals’ data and supervising the access and uses of genetic data.
By providing an empirically-grounded understanding of the attitudes regarding willingness to donate voluntary a sample for profiling and inclusion in a National Forensic DNA Database, this study also considers the citizens’ perceived benefits and risks of operating forensic DNA databases. These collective views might be useful for the formation of international common ethical standards for the development and governance of DNA databases in a framework in which the citizens’ perspectives are taken into consideration.

View all citing articles on Scopus

View full text

A study of Spanish attitudes regarding the custody and use of forensic DNA databases

Abstract

Introduction

Section snippets

Who should be responsible for the custody of a National DNA database?

Materials and methods

Results

Discussion

Forensic Sci. Int.

Genetic exceptionalism and future diaries: is genetic information different from other medical information?

Wonderment and dread: representations of DNA in ethical disputes about forensic DNA databases

New Genet. Soc.

Inclusiveness, effectiveness and intrusiveness: issues in the developing uses of DNA profiling in support of criminal investigations

J. Law Med. Ethics

Science in Action

Autonomy and Trust in Bioethics