If the Diane Sindall case doesn't qualify for familial and advanced DNA testing (via the 'exceptional circumstances' clause) then I can't see how any future UK case ever will.
UK UK- Diane Sindall, 21, florist/barmaid, enroute home, SA, bitten, & beaten to death, Birkenhead, 2 Aug; '86, *Reopened, new DNA*
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Can you give the context of "the 'exceptional circumstances' clause", please?
I'm no expert in the criteria involved, but from my understanding familial DNA searches can be permitted under exceptional circumstances, if approved by the strategy board of the Forensic Information Database Serices (FINDS).
Such familial searches are not routinely permitted in the UK, but are occasionally approved by FINDS. The Bedsit Killer, David Fuller, was caught a couple of years ago after a search was approved.
Familial searches have been used in the UK since 2003. The chief police officer can approach the board for advice on serious unsolved crimes, where other investigative methods have failed to identify the offender.
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Doesn't a familial search mean that one of his family members must have committed a crime to have their DNA on record. They may not have....most people don't commit any crime...
True but more profiles are added to the database year by year. They used to only take profiles from serious offenders, like murderers and rapists, but now also take profiles from shoplifters, drink drivers etc etc.
I think the science is also evolving so they can part-match profiles to more distant relatives than was previously possible.
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fwiw..
''The familial searching service offered to the police by several UK forensic science providers exploits the size and geographic coverage of the NDNAD and the fact that close relatives of an offender may share a significant proportion of that offender's DNA profile and will often reside in close geographic proximity to him or her. Between 2002 and 2011 Forensic Science Service Ltd. (FSS) provided familial search services to support 188 police investigations, 70 of which are still active cases. This technique, which may be used in serious crime cases or in ‘cold case’ reviews when there are few or no investigative leads, has led to the identification of 41 perpetrators or suspects.''
''The familial searching service offered to the police by several UK forensic science providers exploits the size and geographic coverage of the NDNAD and the fact that close relatives of an offender may share a significant proportion of that offender's DNA profile and will often reside in close geographic proximity to him or her. Between 2002 and 2011 Forensic Science Service Ltd. (FSS) provided familial search services to support 188 police investigations, 70 of which are still active cases. This technique, which may be used in serious crime cases or in ‘cold case’ reviews when there are few or no investigative leads, has led to the identification of 41 perpetrators or suspects.''
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rbbm.
“We had been told countless times they had got the wrong person, but without any evidence what could we do?
“It was general gossip. There was one particular event when we were in a pub for a leaving do, it must have been eight years ago, and a young woman approached me.
“She said, ‘the one that got locked up, we all know it was the wrong fella. Everyone knows who it is’.”
"The police have absolutely nothing to go on, they've had to reopen the case and start again. There's DNA filed away now, so anyone who is named and comes forward can be eliminated very quickly and, potentially, clear their name if they've been under suspicion for years.
"There is someone out there whose DNA is going to match and that's the person the police will be looking for now, so they can give everybody closure on the situation.
She added: “It’s been nearly 40 years. People’s consciences must prick them.
“The person who has done this, if they’re still living, must be having real sleepless nights.”
“We had been told countless times they had got the wrong person, but without any evidence what could we do?
“It was general gossip. There was one particular event when we were in a pub for a leaving do, it must have been eight years ago, and a young woman approached me.
“She said, ‘the one that got locked up, we all know it was the wrong fella. Everyone knows who it is’.”
"The police have absolutely nothing to go on, they've had to reopen the case and start again. There's DNA filed away now, so anyone who is named and comes forward can be eliminated very quickly and, potentially, clear their name if they've been under suspicion for years.
"There is someone out there whose DNA is going to match and that's the person the police will be looking for now, so they can give everybody closure on the situation.
She added: “It’s been nearly 40 years. People’s consciences must prick them.
“The person who has done this, if they’re still living, must be having real sleepless nights.”
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