Uses of DNA as a forensic tool

Aim

How will advances in DNA technology impact individuals, law enforcement and society?

Time

This lesson can be adjusted to fill 1 or 2 days.

Guiding questions

· How is scientific progress affecting how DNA is used to solve crimes in the United States?

· What are the benefits and dilemmas of collecting DNA from people when they are arrested, but before they have been charged with a crime?

· As a society, how should we balance privacy rights with the rights of crime victims?

· How can DNA evidence be used to free innocent people?

· How are different communities (within and outside your own) affected by the policies and procedures around DNA collection and law enforcement?

Learning objectives

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

· Discuss why the number of people in DNA databases is on the rise.

· Discuss the ethical issues surrounding the use of familial searching to solve crimes.

· Analyze some of the controversies in using DNA to solve crimes.

· Debate the issues around privacy, laws, freedom and public safety as they relate to DNA technology and crime.

· Recognize some of the unintended consequences of how and why DNA is collected and used by law enforcement.

Materials

Projector or Smartboard, laptop, handouts.

Standards alignment

Common Core Standards

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.6. Compare the point of view of two or more authors for how they treat the same or similar topics, including which details they include and emphasize in their respective accounts.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.3. Evaluate various explanations for actions or events and determine which explanation best accords with textual evidence, acknowledging where the text leaves matters uncertain.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.6. Evaluate authors’ differing points of view on the same historical event or issue by assessing the authors’ claims, reasoning, and evidence.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.11-12.7. Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, as well as in words) in order to address a question or solve a problem.

Next Generation Science Standards

This pgEd lesson integrates some of the NGSS practices and cross cutting concepts associated with the following disciplinary core ideas. The relevant portion of each disciplinary core idea is written out below.

HS-LS3: Inheritance and Variation of Traits

HS-LS3-1:

· Ask questions to clarify relationships about the role of DNA and chromosomes in coding the instructions for characteristic traits passed from parents to offspring.

HS-LS3-3:

· Apply concepts of statistics and probability to explain the variation and distribution of expressed traits in a population.

HS. Engineering Design

HS-ETS1-3:

· Evaluate a solution to a complex real-world problem based on prioritized criteria and trade-offs that account for a range of constraints, including cost, safety, reliability, and aesthetics as well as possible social, cultural, and environmental impacts.

Background information

Note: This lesson contains descriptions of acts of physical and sexual violence and murder that may be distressing for some students and teachers. Teachers may want to inform students of this ahead of time and make accommodations, such as allowing students to step out, if needed. Teachers should use their discretion in which case studies, or parts of them, to use in their classrooms.

This lesson examines some of the recent legal and scientific developments in DNA collection and analysis. Students are asked to explore issues related to public safety, privacy rights, race and the role of government in regulating the collection and storage of DNA. Through the reading, slides, and classroom discussion of the scenarios, students are asked to tackle complex issues that may have wide-reaching consequences on the personal and societal levels.

The collection and analysis of DNA is an important tool in law enforcement. The FBI states that, as of 2019, over 450,000 cases have used DNA evidence to aid in criminal investigations. Additionally, The Innocence Project reports over 350 people, several of whom were on death row, have been exonerated as a result of DNA evidence. In 2019, over 16 million people in the United States have their DNA profile in government created and supervised databases, whether it be as someone convicted of a crime, or as someone who has been arrested. Some expect this number will continue to climb as a result of the 2013 Supreme Court decision in Maryland v. King, in which the Court ruled to allow law enforcement to collect DNA from people who are arrested, but not charged or convicted of a crime.

This lesson covers five main topics related to DNA and the criminal justice system: (i) privacy rights; (ii) how DNA is collected and used in the US legal system; (iii) unintended outcomes related to increased use of DNA analysis; (iv) the limitations and worries related to DNA and crime and; (v) bias within the criminal justice system.   

DNA collection for crime-solving purposes can intersect with the Genetic Information Non-discrimination Act (GINA). This is a chance to inform students that there are federal protections in place, because of GINA, that forbid certain uses of genetic information in the context of health insurance and employment. Employers cannot ask for employee’s DNA, even when the employer believes that person is guilty of a crime. This is what happened in Lowe & Reynolds v. Atlas Logistics Group Retail Services, which is the subject of the Do Now activity. Employees, accused of a crime and then asked for their DNA by their boss, were awarded $2.25 million in damages as a result of the trial.

 

DNA databases

DNA is collected and used in the US legal system in what are known as forensic databases, typically overseen by local, state and federal authorities. The information collected captures segments of a person’s DNA that are both highly unique and not tied to known physical traits. These DNA profiles can be used to match the DNA from a crime scene to people who may be guilty of committing the crime. Apart from using DNA databases to identify suspects, they can also be used to identify victims and missing persons, or to provide evidence to support exonerations. Criminal DNA databases are growing in terms of the number of people whose DNA is collected. The way in which they are used is also changing. How DNA databases are created and used will be discussed, as well as how and why their composition and regulation have changed over time.

Uses of DNA as a forensic tool

Four case studies are used to illustrate the ways in which DNA databases can be used to: (i) identify suspects; (ii) identify victims and missing persons; (iii) provide evidence to support exonerations. Within each case is a chance to explore the challenge of establishing ethical and legal frameworks in a timely manner to guide the use of newly developed technologies.

The first case tells the story of a serial killer known as the “Grim Sleeper”, who was arrested and convicted based, in part, on a technique known as familial searching. Familial searching uses DNA databases and specialized computer software to identify people whose DNA is similar, but not an exact match, to DNA found at a crime scene. As we share part of our DNA with our biological relatives, the assumption is that the similarity in DNA occurs because the identified person is a family member of the actual suspect. This practice is controversial because of privacy concerns, which are discussed in detail in slide 13. Beyond the use of government-run, DNA databases (which were developed in the early 1990s) a new approach to crime solving emerged in 2018: Police seeking suspects or their biological relatives in a non-profit, open access database for genealogy hobbyists. The latter method was applied to identify the “Golden State Killer”, who killed 10 women in California and terrorized communities for many years. The third case study is an example of the use of DNA as a tool to identify victims and missing persons. Grandmothers known as the “Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo”, protested the kidnapping and murder of their children by the dictatorship during Argentina’s “Dirty War” (1976-1983). They sought out geneticists, and together, developed DNA tools to locate and reunite with those children and grandchildren. The final case tells the story of Darryl Hunt, who was exonerated after serving 19 years in jail for a crime he did not commit, thanks to his and his allies’ tireless advocacy combined with the use of familial searching.

Limitations

The limitations of the use of DNA in forensic investigations are discussed in the final part of the lesson plan. Rapid growth of DNA databases alongside evolving of genetic technologies bring new challenges to the forefront. A key question that is woven through this lesson is how we as a society can use genetics to keep people safe, solve crimes and, at the same time, develop policies that ensure fairness and provide appropriate safeguards and privacy protections. A useful message to share with students is that many experts do not agree on how DNA should be used to prevent and solve crime. The questions tackled in this lesson are currently being discussed at local, state and federal levels, and are the subject of legal debates, pending legislation, and court cases.

Note: We have included a number of news articles and videos throughout this lesson plan. However, as technology evolves at a rapid pace, we recommend visiting http://pged.org/genetics-and-crime/ for regular updates related to this lesson.