The FBI and DNA! Part 1: A Look at the Nationwide System that Helps Solve Crimes! ! 11/23/11! !

The use of DNAwhich carries individuals unique genetic information to help solve crimes has become such a fundamental tool for law enforcement that its hard to believe this technique of matching unknown proles to known o"enders is a fairly recent phenomenon.! ! The FBI launched the National DNA Index System (NDIS) in 1998along with the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) software to manage the programand since that time it has become the worlds largest repository of known o"ender DNA records. Last year, in partnership with local, state, and federal crime laboratories and law enforcement agencies, CODIS aided nearly 25,000 criminal investigations.! ! ! ! Obtaining a DNA Prole! ! Some of the more typical items received by laboratories that may contain DNA include drinking glasses, chewing gum, envelopes, and blood. Technicians swab the material to obtain a DNA sample.! ! ! Regarding blood, said Douglas Hares, NDIS custodian, If its visible, if you can see a very small dot of blood, we are probably able to develop a DNA prole from it.! ! ! DNA can also be obtained from a hat headband, for example, or the trigger of a gun. As long as there are cells from the skin, its possible to get DNA, Hares said. It all depends on the environmental conditions the sample has been exposed to. We have had good success with evidence in cases over 30 years old where we were able to obtain a full DNA prole.! !

FBI.gov recently sat down with Douglas Hares, a Ph.D. scientist at the FBI Laboratory who is the custodian of the National DNA Database.! ! Q: How did the Bureau come to play such a key role in using DNA to help solve crimes?! ! Hares: DNA technology was rst introduced in criminal court cases around 1988. When the FBI saw the potential for exchanging and comparing DNA proles to help solve crimescrimes that might not be solved in any other waythe concept of a national program was born. In 1994, Congress passed the DNA Identication Act, which gave the FBI authority to establish a national database. During the next few years, the FBI developed, tested, and implemented the CODIS software as well as training support for states authorized to collect DNA samples from o"enders. In 1998, we started NDIS with nine participating states. Now, all 50 states participate, and NDIS currently contains over 10 million DNA proles.! ! Q: What is a DNA prole?! ! Hares: A DNA prole, or type, is just a series of numbers. These numbers are assigned to an individual based on specic identication markers on his or her DNA molecule. In CODIS, those numbers represent a persons one-of-a-kind DNA prole.! ! Q: How does CODIS use those proles to solve crimes?! ! Hares: A forensic laboratory receives evidence in a criminal investigation and is asked to perform DNA testing on that evidence. The evidence may be part of a rape case or a homicide. Or maybe there is a murder weapon that contains DNA. The DNA prole obtained from the crime scene evidence is called a forensic unknown. The laboratory doesnt know whose prole it is, but they know it is associated with the crime. The laboratory enters that prole into CODIS. If its a local case, the prole is entered into the local CODIS system and uploaded to the state level. At the state level, the prole will be compared with all the o"enders from that states database. The forensic unknown may or may not match with other DNA records at the state level. On a weekly basis, the state uploads its

DNA records to NDIS, the national level. We search the prole against all 50 states o"ender proles to see if there is a match; if there is, the CODIS software automatically returns messages in the system to the laboratories involved. The local labs evaluate the matches and release that information to the law enforcement agency. That is how a previously unknown DNA prole is associated with a known o"ender.! ! Q: Who has access to CODIS?! ! Hares: By federal law, access is generally limited to criminal justice agencies for law enforcement identication purposes. That federal law also authorizes access for criminal defense purposes to a defendant in connection with his or her case. CODIS was designed to ensure the condentiality of the DNA record. No personal identierssuch as name, Social Security number, or date of birthare stored in CODIS.! ! Next: High-prole cases, cold cases, and more.! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !