The Blooding

Abstract

In the book, Wambaugh Joseph outlines the challenges that the police detectives normally face their attempts to identify the real suspects in major cases as murder and rape. In the book, two girls are raped and consequently brutally murdered. The investigations normally led to the arrest of a suspect whom the police believe is the main offender. However, the DNA fingerprinting that Alec Jeffreys implements reveal that the suspect in custody is in fact not the killer and thus released. The preceding investigations of the samples from more than 4000 suspects in the community lead to the arrest of the real culprit. The essay underscores the significance of DNA fingerprinting in assisting the criminal justice departments ensuring that there is the simplification of the process of identifying suspects. The identification of the suspects is the initial phase with the formal investigations being left to the conventional investigations. The essay additionally assesses the changes in the DNA fingerprinting as well as the issues that the technology is facing.

Body

The blooding a book by Wambaugh Joseph is in relation the case that involve the rape of the fifteen-year-old Lynda Mann in the year 19830 (McCoy, 2015). She was savagely raped and consequently strangled, with her body found in a shady footpath close to the English village of Narborough. In the same year, a there is the establishment of a massive dragnet encompassing 150 police personnel but nonetheless the case remained unsolved. Three years after the initial case, the killer struck again raping and killing the teenager Dawn Ashford a few meters from the location where Linda brutally murdered. The positive outcome that resulted from the case came four years later via a scientific breakthrough in the largest manhunt in British crime history. It was after the blooding of over 4,000 men in the region that led to the identification of the real killer (McCoy, 2015).

In the initial investigations, the investigators tried to follow all the leads they could find by questing all the possible suspects but a year later and with no success, the squad was dissolved. The closures of the squad made the village go back to their normal lives, until 1986 following the discovery of another girl raped and strangled just a few steps from where the lifeless body of Linda found (Santos, 2014).

In the second however the police squeeze a kitchen porter who had been seen leaving the scene of the crime into what the police considered to the confession, leaving the police satisfied with their work. However, another individual, Alec Jeffreys who was a scientist at Leicester University was not satisfied with the confession and continued with his work in new forensic investigations. Jeffreys working with the police matches the DNA samples from the suspected killer with the DNA found in the bodies of the murdered girls. It follows that the every individual’s DNA other than in the case of twins is normally unique and after Jeffrey compared the blood samples from the porter with the semen found on the bodies found no match. The resultant outcome is that the porter is set free, and a fresh manhunt of the killer starts (McCoy, 2015).

The manhunt that followed encompassed the biggest roundup in the British history that saw the arrest of 4000 possible suspects who were tested leading to the arrest of the 27-year-old bakery worker in September 1987 (Varsha, 2006). The case was the first that had solved by the use of DNA testing referred to as genetic fingerprinting.  In his writings, Joseph Wambaugh clearly demonstrates his excellent investigative abilities. His stories posit efficient demonstrating people’s portraits as well as the as well as the police and the methods they apply in their investigations. He describes the relentless the methods the police utilize in their questioning, the emotional swings they apply along with the empty leads that lead them to the frustrating paths (McCoy, 2015).

In his work, he describes the through processes as well as the efforts that the police undertake in carrying out their investigations. Through this element, it is possible for the public to take a preview of the difficult task that investigators normally undertake their attempts to catch the real suspect. As is the case in abreast of the Porter, the police believe they have arrested the real criminal; the suspects’ family, on the other hand, is assertive that their relative is innocent. The introduction of the DBA testing makes it possible to set the case on the right course as the real criminal is arrested while the initial suspect is set free (Abinaya, Narang, & Bhardwaj, 2015).

In the sexual murder or rape investigations, the British police should carry out a large-scale DNA testing of all the men in the area that the crime took place. Such first case was in light of the Narborough murders inquiry whereby all the male residents of the village between the ages of 17 and 34 years were requested to submit their saliva and blood samples voluntarily. The voluntary submission of the samples was with the objective of eliminating them from the suspects’ lists of the pathway murders. As seen, the police got more than 4000 samples from the men in Littlehorpe, Narborough, and Enderby (Chaudhary, Dogra, & Raina, 2015). A lot of police resources, as well as laboratory costs, are evident in the processes of these bloodings. Thus, the British police followed DNA screens directed the intelligence they collect.  In this case, the individuals are normally grouped in terms of their priorities under the guidance of their criminal record, age, proximity to the crime scene as well any other relevant criteria. In the cases that are normally dealing with serial crimes, application of geographic profiling is normally very significant in narrowing down the suspect list (Santos, 2014).

DNA Fingerprinting

DNA fingerprinting known as DNA profiling, genotyping, genetic fingerprinting entails the method of identifying as well as isolating the variable elements present in the DNA base pair. Alec Jeffreys developed the technique in 1984 following his noticing of the particular sequences of the highly variable DNA repeated within the genes. The rationale behind the application of the DNA fingerprinting is to assist in the identification of individuals when most other methods are not applicable (Varsha, 2006).

DNA in Criminal Justice

The police detectives in the early years came to a realization that every individual normally different patterns of the tips of their fingers, making the fingerprints the standard mode of identification. However the fact that there is a possibility of altering the patterns on the fingers via surgery as well as many other methods makes it an unreliable model of identifying criminals. However, the application of DNA that normally possesses living cells makes it impossible to alter thus offering the best identification system for the players in CJS (Abinaya,Narang, & Bhardwaj, 2015).

DNA exists for only a single individual and Jeffreys coined the term DNA fingerprinting to envision the powerful use of the advancement. Utilization of a drop of blood, single hair, semen or any other body fluid offers a perfect medium for the identification of an individual. The application of DNA fingerprinting is significant in the identification of people, population study as well as forensic investigations. The area of forensics, as well as crime detection, is the most promising area of DNA fingerprinting and at the same time the most controversial. The DNA fingerprinting technology relies on a unitary assumption of the fact that there are no two individual sharing the same DNA. The 3 billion base sequences normally encompass four nucleotides. They include the thymine (T), adenine (A), cytosine (C) as well as the guanine (G) (Chaudhary, Dogra, & Raina, 2015). In the DNA fingerprinting; scientists normally base their assessment of the segment whereby the sequences are varying a huge deal from one person to another.

Criminals in most cases leave some evidence of their identity such as leaving semen, hair, blood as well as saliva. These materials that criminals normally leave at the crime scene normally undergo careful collection and await the preparation of their analysis. In the analysis the evidence from the crime scene, such as saliva or hair in our case from the prime suspect and a control specimen belonging to the victim and who’s DNA had known. The preferable method applied in obtaining the sample for the reference is normally a buccal swap via the utilization of a cotton or small brush to collect the sample of cells from the inside surface of the cheek (McCoy, 2015). The rationale behind this attribute is that it reduces the likelihood of causing contamination to the sample. The buccal swab is normally easy as it requires a rapid single step process in contrast to the alternative methods that normally demand multiple steps. The performance of every additional procedure in the procurement of the DNA sample normally creates an additional opportunity for human error. Thus, the avoidance of causing contamination to the sample is possible via the collection of the sample in place with low traffic in addition to expecting that the collector wears a mask during the procedure. In the event that the buccal swab is not a viable option, the alternative methods are applicable in the collection of the saliva, semen, blood sample as well as theater appropriate fluids or tissues (Abinaya, Narang, & Bhardwaj, 2015).

DNA Typing

The objective of the utilization of the forensic scientists encompasses the establishment of a genetic profile of the individual via discovering the alleles that are prevalent in the selected loci. After the collection of the biological material from the scene of the crime, the DNA is initially extracted from its biological source and consequently measured to assess the recovered DNA quantity. Following the isolation of the DNA from its cells, there is the copying of definite regions using a technique referred to as the polymerase chain reaction. The procedure leads to the production of millions of duplicates of each DNA segment of interest and consequently allowing for the examination of the minute amounts of DNA segment. The moment there is a declaration of a genetic, there is the generation of a statistic conveying how common or rare the matching genetic profile is in the context of the general population. The statistic is normally diminutive and could help the prosecutor in securing a conviction during the same time it could mislead the jury (Chaudhary, Dogra, & Raina, 2015).

The changes in DNA technology have altered numerous aspects of the criminal justice system, with the utilization of DNA evidence being the best example. The utilization of DNA has altered modified via the allowing of other materials other than blood utilized in the identification.  The DNA technology applies to the resolution of criminal cases as well as the implication of being guilty as well as not guilty, life or death. The DNA fingerprint technology is applicable in the analyzing as well as proving innocence or guiltiness of suspects in various crimes with immense accuracy. The use of DNA evidence in comparisons of the law enforcement databases allows the identification of the criminal and at the same time rule out the suspects (Varsha, 2006).

At the moment, the use of DNA evidence presents the most powerful tool for investigations that is currently available. The adoption of DNA evidence has altered the crime fighting landscape in a dramatic manner. The development and the expansion of the databases containing the DNA profiles at the national, local as well as state levels have greatly enhanced the ability of the local authorities to solve cases using the DNA samples. Databases that contain the records of the convicted offenders normally stores thousands DNA profiles of the probable suspects that for comparisons against the DNA profiles from the various crime scenes (Chaudhary, Dogra, & Raina, 2015).

The DNA fingerprinting technology has brought change to almost all aspects of the criminal justice system.  It has led to a modification of the manner of viewing the old as well as the unsolved crimes, rejuvenating some of the cases previously believed to be unsolvable. It has additionally modified the belief that people previously had in the context of the reliability that of the judicial system via the post-conviction exonerations. The DNA evidence has additionally gone to an extent of proving the means of exonerating some of the criminals that could be facing death as well as those serving life prison sentences (Abinaya, Narang, & Bhardwaj, 2015).

One of the advantages that DNA exhibits entail utilization of DNA fingerprinting in solving some of the unsolved cases, identifying victims in mass terrorist attacks as well as in aircraft accidents. Additionally the DNA fingerprinting has consequently elevated the possibility of locating assailants in various criminal offenses especially the sexual as well as violent crimes. The location of the DNA is in every cell of the human body, thus making it possible to utilize any part of the body in establishing an individual’s identity. Thus the DNA fingerprinting is very significant in the resolution of homicide cases whereby there is the disfiguration of the body, with fingers, teeth among other features destroyed (Chaudhary, Dogra, & Raina, 2015).

Benefits as Well As Risks of the Forensic DNA Databases

The continued development in the size of the forensic DNA databases brings about the issues relating to the criterion for the inclusion as well as retention. Additionally issues relating to the efficiency doubts, an infringement of privacy as well as commensurability of the databases with such large quantity of personal data normally arise. In comparison the past experiences, the utilization of the DNA technology is not only for the serious crimes but all the crimes are now subject to DNA analysis. Conversely, civil liberties, as well as rights, are vital for the various democratic societies making any aspirations relating to the extension of the forensic databases to the entire population face condemnation. According to Alec Jeffreys, the UK police wrongly collect the DNA profiles as they collect it from the arrestees without convictions, innocent individuals without ant priors and suspects cleared in the investigations (Abinaya, Narang, & Bhardwaj, 2015).

Additionally he contends that the large national forensic databases as the NDNAD could easily socioeconomically skew. The majority of the matches that normally result from these databases are normally about the minor offenses as theft but not for the main offenses as murder and rape. DNA is normally more objective as well as accurate in comparison to the other forensic disciplines that base their evidence on the subjective interpretations as well as judgments. On the other hand, it is right to say that DNA is normally not infallible and is liable to corruption by the environmental factors such bacteria, heat as well as direct sunlight (Abinaya, Narang, & Bhardwaj, 2015).

Additionally it is normally subject to human error as well as fraud in the comparison of the samples collected from the suspects with those from the scene of the crime. Proponents of the DNA fingerprinting technology normally argue that the DNA databases are normally not meant to replace the conventional criminal investigations but conversely serve to complement them. The realization this attribute is that these databases should principally assist in the identification of the potential suspects sooner, giving way to more advanced investigations using the conventional means. Advocates of DNA fingerprinting further argue that the obtaining of these samples for the government databases do not raise privacy issues as the procedure in the procuring of the DNA sample is less invasive that taking blood samples (Varsha, 2006).

References

McCoy, W. K. (2015). The Blooding. Library Journal, 140(11), 79.

Abinaya, E., Narang, P., & Bhardwaj, A. (2015). FROG - Fingerprinting Genomic Variation Ontology. Plos ONE, 10(8), 1-11. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0134693

Chaudhary, G., Dogra, T. D., & Raina, A. (2015). Evaluation of blood, buccal swabs, and hair follicles for DNA profiling technique using STR markers. Croatian Medical Journal, 56(3), 239-245. doi:10.3325/cmj.2015.56.239

Varsha. (2006). DNA Fingerprinting in the Criminal Justice System: An Overview. DNA & Cell Biology, 25(3), 181-188. doi:10.1089/dna.2006.25.181

Santos, F. (2014). Making sense of the story – the dialogues between the police and forensic laboratories in the construction of DNA evidence. New Genetics & Society,33(2), 181-203. doi:10.1080/14636778.2014.916186

Sherry Roberts is the author of this paper. A senior editor at MeldaResearch.Com in graduate paper writing service if you need a similar paper you can place your order from custom research paper writing service.