DNAPrint significantly reduced the DNA donor sample collections required in a major criminal investigation

Jul 10 2004

DNAPrint genomics, Inc. has announced that, according to the July 7, 2004 London Times article "1,000 men were asked to give DNA in hunt for serial rapist" by Madeleine Acey, "Detectives hunting one of Britain's worst serial sex attackers are inviting 1,000 men to provide DNA samples as they try to identify the rapist. Officers have narrowed down a list of possible suspects to 1,000 men who meet a geographical and racial profile. They started off with 10,000."

"The report DNAPrint provided to New Scotland Yard and the London Metropolitan Police clearly reduced the number of samples and possible leads that needed to be investigated," said Dr. Matthew Thomas, Senior Scientist at DNAPrint. "This shows the power of DNAWitness 2.5 when used in the early stages of an investigation. Saving time in a criminal investigation is critical in the proper allocation of investigative resources and, hopefully, preventing further crimes."

"Sometimes eyewitness reports and even reports and descriptions from the victims are not enough to narrow the focus of an investigation," said Richard Gabriel, CEO and President of DNAPrint genomics, Inc. "We were able, based on our database results, to narrow the field of possible donors. The agencies were able to trim their pool of possible donors from 10,000 to 1,000 individuals, using DNAWitness and other information," he said. "The reduction in possible donors represents a cost-savings to the agencies, not to mention the personnel time it would require to process 10,000 samples versus the time it takes for 1,000 samples. This not only saves money, but it also saves valuable time and helps speed up the investigation process," said Gabriel.

DNAWitness 2.5 is a genomic-based test that can determine an individual's relative amounts of Native-American, East-Asian, Sub-Saharan African and European genes. Without any information about the investigation or the crime, DNAWitness 2.5 can provide the investigator with necessary guidance to properly focus their investigations. DNAWitness results can provide the spark that ignites a new line of questioning in an investigation.