They didn't match evidence to a person directly. They matched evidence to a DNA database to find the person. That sounds like the same thing, but it's not.
There was no warrant. The DNA database company did not know they were participating in a law enforcement case. There could be other people (unlikely but possible) that matched but weren't on file anywhere. People will start viewing such evidence as "Science!" instead of evidence like all the rest.
Finally, if this okay, we have an economics question. It cost the cops 40 or 50 bucks to catch a serial killer. Well-spent money in my book. But what if they could catch people for 10 bucks? Or a dollar? What if they could automatically collect samples and run them without any manual effort?
If this happens -- and I see no reason that it won't -- it won't be just serial killers. It'll be parking violations, trespassers, urban graffiti artists -- anybody that can leave DNA. And who's got the money to fight something like this over a traffic ticket if they get it wrong? People will just pay up or go to prison.
It's continuing the destruction of our human-powered, adversarial, community-approved justice system, replacing it with automation and faux certainty. Catching evil killers is awesome, but the rest of it doesn't seem like such a good future for my kids or grand-kids.
>Lead investigator Paul Holes, a cold case expert and retired Contra Costa County District Attorney inspector, said his team’s biggest tool was GEDmatch, a Florida-based website that pools raw genetic profiles that people share publicly. No court order was needed to access that site’s large database of genetic blueprints. Other major private DNA ancestral sites said they were not approached by police for this case.
>"“GEDmatch exists to provide DNA and genealogy tools for comparison and research purposes,” the site states on its policy page. “It is supported entirely by users, volunteers, and researchers. DNA and Genealogical research, by its very nature, requires the sharing of information. Because of that, users participating in this site should expect that their information will be shared with other users.”
>“If you require absolute security, please do not upload your data to GEDmatch. If you have already uploaded it, please delete it,” it continues. “While the results presented on this site are intended solely for genealogical research, we are unable to guarantee that users will not find other uses.”
> And who's got the money to fight something like this over a traffic ticket if they get it wrong? People will just pay up or go to prison.
I don't know for you but I known many people who just fought their ticket just because they knew the cops wouldn't show up in court. Some of them did do the infraction too... You just multiplied the number of offense in an incredible way and believe they will have more time to fight them in court? Don't think so...
Also, if you leave enough DNA while doing any of theses activities, well you are doing something pretty wrong...
I am concerned about the way it happened.
They didn't match evidence to a person directly. They matched evidence to a DNA database to find the person. That sounds like the same thing, but it's not.
There was no warrant. The DNA database company did not know they were participating in a law enforcement case. There could be other people (unlikely but possible) that matched but weren't on file anywhere. People will start viewing such evidence as "Science!" instead of evidence like all the rest.
Finally, if this okay, we have an economics question. It cost the cops 40 or 50 bucks to catch a serial killer. Well-spent money in my book. But what if they could catch people for 10 bucks? Or a dollar? What if they could automatically collect samples and run them without any manual effort?
If this happens -- and I see no reason that it won't -- it won't be just serial killers. It'll be parking violations, trespassers, urban graffiti artists -- anybody that can leave DNA. And who's got the money to fight something like this over a traffic ticket if they get it wrong? People will just pay up or go to prison.
It's continuing the destruction of our human-powered, adversarial, community-approved justice system, replacing it with automation and faux certainty. Catching evil killers is awesome, but the rest of it doesn't seem like such a good future for my kids or grand-kids.