“We need this DNA database so that we can use it to compile frequencies of the various DNA profiles within the Bahamian population so that when we get an unknown stain and compare it, for example, with a known suspect and a known victim we can give the probability of that stain coming from that individual,” explained Chief Superintendent Quinn McCartney, director of the policeﾒs forensics science section.
Mr. McCartney explained that the exercise will be voluntary and the samples will be taken anonymously, meaning there will be no documentation.
He believes that such a database would be a powerful tool in crime fighting.
“We believe that 99 percent of our population are law-abiding citizens,” Mr. McCartney said. “This is for the benefit of those law-abiding citizens. It may be a murder or a sexual offence. This information would be critical when those cases come up.”
He explained that while the DNA of every person ﾖ except identical twins ﾖ is different there are certain DNA sequences or profiles that recur.
“Itﾒs impossible for us to sample 6 billion people in the world or 300,000 people in the Bahamas,” Mr. McCartney said. “So what we do is a representative portion of the population and take the likelihood of that particular profile showing up.”
He explained that experts would examine 13 different alleles in the DNA of each volunteer. An allele is defined as an alternative form of a gene (one member of a pair) that is located at a specific position on a specific chromosome.
“When you look at the 13 different sites and multiply them and determine the different variations, you get a large frequency to say this DNA is unique to a particular individual and thatﾒs basically what weﾒre looking at,” Mr. McCartney said.
He recognized that the highly-scientific nature of DNA testing may not be that easy for the average person to grasp, but believes that Bahamians who want to help police in the fight against crime would recognize that participating in the exercise would be an important way to help.
Mr. McCartney stressed that because of the anonymous nature of what police experts would be doing, there is no reason for anyone to fear that their DNA samples would be used improperly or invade their privacy rights.
The fact that the exercise will be done on a voluntary basis would also eliminate any controversy surrounding it, Mr. McCartney added.
Police plan to make a formal announcement about the DNA database toward the end of the month and volunteers would be told where they can go to give saliva samples.
“We want to sample as many persons as possible to take into consideration all of the various variations,” Mr. McCartney said.
Because the police force does not yet have adequate lab facilities, he said that actual testing of the samples would not likely begin until the end of the year.
By: Candia Dames, The Bahama Journal
