Essay about DNA, The New Crime Investigator - 1358 Words

DNA, The New Crime Investigator Abstract What is DNA? The scientific definition is â€Å"deoxyribonucleic acid, the biological polymer that stores the genetic information in all free living organisms. Two linear molecules entwine to form the double helix. Now that the definition has been stated, let’s now define what DNA means to a crime scene or case investigator. In the law enforcement business DNA has been introduce as a revolutionary and efficient accurate tool to solve and crack modern and cold cases. It also has played major roles in courtrooms through out the nation on either proven guilt, or revealing the truth behind the innocence on the wrongly accused and convicted by our own court system. DNA has also brought justice to†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ Exonerate persons wrongly accused of crimes †¢ Identify crime and catastrophe victims †¢ Establish paternity and other family relationships †¢ Identify endangered and protected species as an aid to wildlife officials †¢ Sexual assault or sex offender tracking †¢ Identify serial crimes. (3) The first case that used DNA analysis was in â€Å"1987 in the Florida v. Andrews case, involving a sexual assault. Police in Orlando, Florida, suspected that one man was involved in over twenty cases of breaking and entering, prowling and attempted sexual assault†. By the use of DNA analysis justice was able to bring this perpetrator to a conviction in a court of law for the sexual crimes that he committed. This case was the first of its kind in the U.S. to bring a suspect to a conviction only on DNA profiling. (4) Since about 1986 DNA testing has been used in approximately 50,000 criminal investigations in the U.S. alone. â€Å"DNA evidence is most often found in sexual assaults. About three-fourths of DNA evidence examined by the FBI and other labs consist of semen specimens. About a third of all FBI test exonerate wrongfully accused men. A quarter of the tests areShow MoreRelatedEssay on Criminal Investigations1096 Words   |  5 PagesCriminal Investigations are ways that crimes are looked at and criminals arrested (In Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica, 2011). It is a huge part of getting criminals off the street. Investigation is a crucial aspect for many different crimes such as, but not limited to, theft, robbery, burglary, arson, murder, and assault. Criminal Investigations can take days or up to many years to solve; some cases are never closed. 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