Dutch authorities want to use private commercial DNA databases for cold cases
Authorities in the Netherlands are moving forward with plans to use private DNA databases to help solve serious criminal cases where the trail has gone cold. The Public Prosecution Service (OM) and the Netherlands Forensic Institute (NFI) plan to use the DNA databases from commercial firms that mainly collect samples from clients who want to carry out genealogical research.
The authorities hope that they will be able to use a wider range of genetic samples to be able to find close and distant relatives to people involved in crimes, they announced on Monday. "In the United States, this method was first used in 2018, and has already led to a breakthrough in about 550 cold cases," the OM said. They also claimed that Swedish authorities used the method to solve a double-homicide from 2004, and that Norwegian investigators managed to close a 1999 murder case.
The OM and NFI will start with two Dutch cold cases involving murder or manslaughter to see if the method also leads to a breakthrough in the Netherlands. Details were not released about either crime, but there is DNA material material from an unknown suspect in one case, and the other case involves an as-yet unidentified victim. "If the pilot is successful, we will certainly look into the possibility of using this method in other very serious cases that meet the required criteria."
Before involving commercial data in Dutch criminal cases, the OM will first ask the magistrate overseeing an investigation for authorization on a case-by-case basis. The magistrate already has to give approval when investigators want to match DNA with other databases, like the one maintained by Dutch authorities for criminal investigations. It is not yet clear whether the magistrate's permission is actually required when using commercial and other genealogical databases.
"The examining magistrate may not consider this necessary because people have been included voluntarily and have given explicit permission for their DNA profile to be used for judicial investigations," the OM said.
For now, the OM and NFI will use DNA databases from GEDmatch and FamilyTreeDNA, two commercial companies in the United States. They selected these businesses because many Dutch people send them DNA samples, and also because many residents in the United States have European roots, particularly northwestern Europe, the OM said. Additionally, they allow their users to opt-in to allowing law enforcement to use their DNA to help solve criminal investigations.
Both cases selected for the pilot involves people believed to be of northwestern European descent, to increase the likelihood of a match. The other criteria used to determine the cases that may be involved in the future include the seriousness of the incident, that the cases are unsolved even after "years of exhaustive research," and that the quality and quantity of DNA material is enough to lead to a possible match.
The five top genealogical databases in the United States include material from about 40 million participants in total, according to newswire ANP. They are open to participation from people across the globe who are willing to send in a cheek swab.
The OM said that some 1,260,000 users at FamilyTreeDNA allow their DNA to be used to solve criminal cases. Another 525,000 people who used GEDmatch said the same.