Here is what I consider to be another interesting report about DNA genealogy and the use of it by LE:
Privacy concerns don't stop people from putting their DNA on the internet to help solve crimes - The Salina Post
Here is part of the article:
contains over 1.2 million user-submitted DNA kits.
All users who
opt in to its public portal are alerted that their DNA information
may be searched by law enforcement agencies investigating a crime or seeking to identify a deceased person.
In Rogers’ experience, that possibility excites, rather than concerns, many customers. He routinely receives emails from people who want to post their DNA profile to GEDmatch “so they can assist in catching criminals, including those who might be family members, so that any unsolved cases can be solved, and families involved can get closure.”
CeCe Moore – perhaps the best known scientist in the burgeoning field of genetic genealogy – sees similar sentiments on the popular
Facebook page where she posts updates on recently solved cases.
“They want to be part of solving this,” she told me, “They are web sleuths – and perhaps their DNA could be key to cracking a case.”
Moore works with
Parabon NanoLabs, a DNA technology company that
builds the family tree of DNA found at a crime scene to help police identify suspects.
“People ask us all the time, how can I get my DNA to a place where you guys can solve cases?” Parabon CEO Steve Armentrout told me.
Here is another part of the article:
A screenshot of the Facebook page of the prominent genetic genealogist CeCe Moore.
Facebook
The genetic genealogist Cece Moore finds that doesn’t deter people.
“They want murderers and rapists and serial killers off the street,” she says of the people who talk to her about contributing their DNA to GEDMatch or similar sites. “These people are willing to make sacrifices for that to happen.”
The logic she often hears, Moore says, is: “If my second cousin is a serial killer, I want him caught. I want people to pay for these crimes even if its someone I am close to or I love.”
Research confirms these observations. A
study published in the academic journal PLOS Biology in October 2018 found that 79% of 1,578 survey respondents – some of whom had themselves
done a home DNA test with 23andMe or other genetic testing site – support police searches of websites like GEDmatch.
Respondents were most supportive of investigations for violent crimes, crimes against children, or missing persons, leading the authors to observe that “perceived invasions of privacy appear to be tolerable when the purpose is to catch violent or particularly depraved offenders.”
