The Ethicality of Forensic Databases
By Anonymous | June 18, 2021
Forensic data has been used in monumental cases to determine killers and criminals of many unsolved crimes. One such case was the murder of a 16 year old girl in Kollum, a small village in the Netherlands back in 1999. Iraqi and Afghan residents who were asylum seekers were predominantly blamed for the murder, which increased racial and ethic tensions in the area. Years later, forensic evidence from a semen sample determined that the murderer in the case was of European descent. This was a landmark for the case and diminished the racial tensions at the time. Such cases of wrongfully accused individuals having their cases overturned to serial killers being identified years later have shown a positive light on forensic based databases. The particular database that aided in the Kollum case was the Y-chromosome Haplotype Reference Database (YHRD). Now, YHRD is predominantly used to solve sex crimes and paternity cases.
The YHRD is a research database that is used in both academic and criminal laboratories. However, the ethicality of the data present in the YHRD has been of concern. Over a thousand of the male profiles in the YHRD do not seem to have had any consent given in having their DNA in the database. Some of these profiles include members of the Uyughur population, a predominantly muslim population in China. This comes with heightened concern as increasing reports indicate that the Uyughur population is being exploited, with even potential ethnic cleansing by the Chinese government. The DNA may be forcefully collected by the Chinese government, which could be used in a detrimental manner against the Uyughurs.
The ethicality of forensic databases is not well regulated and needs to be discussed more in the limelight. Forensic data, such as DNA and fingerprints, are sensitive data that can implicate not only an individual but their family and descendants as well. The YHRD opens up a discussion on other databases as well that do not properly regulate consent and the dissemination of purposeful data. DNA data collected by police forces are usually highly secured and are only used during preliminary investigation. Once a particular case is finished, the data is typically erased. With the predominance of large databases like YHRD increasing, new rules and regulations must be kept in place to ensure both privacy and ethicality. Forensic data can be very beneficial in solving crimes, insighting evidence, and even connecting loved ones. However, forensic data can also be used by the government for malpractice and can implicate people and their relatives. Due to this, we should take a deeper look into large scale forensic databases and their ethicality.
References
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01584-w
https://yhrd.org/