The Criminal Law (Forensic Procedures) Amendment Bill is sometimes known as the DNA Bill. The purpose of this Bill would be to expand the capabilities of SAPS, and establish regulations for the collection, establishment and administration of DNA evidence.
This Bill establishes a uniform manner of collecting and storing DNA profiles and samples, and mandates training courses on proper procedure for anyone that collects or stores such information. This Bill would also establish a national database of DNA profiles. It would also separate DNA profiles into various indices, separating convicted offenders from reference DNA profiles, volunteers, those present at crime scenes, and personnel, contractors and suppliers.
Police officials may take fingerprints, body prints and non-intimate samples from a person if they have good reason to believe that it will assist any investigation. However, bodily intimate samples could only be taken by a registered medical practitioner or a registered nurse, and only at the request of a police official. If a person is not convicted, their information and samples must be destroyed after five years.
For victims of crime, such a database could be used to establish guilt as well innocence in many different types of cases. Such DNA profiles could be used to provide irrefutable evidence in cases like rape, where clear DNA samples could be collected to match a perpetrator to the crime. The database may also act as a deterrent to criminals, if the SAPS has access to such a tool. Additionally, the database extends the possibility of connecting serial criminals to many different crime scenes, and could potentially decrease recidivism rates.
Have you ever been a victim of a crime where DNA samples could have been collected, but weren’t? Do you feel like this type of evidence would have helped your case?
In what other ways do you think such a bill will affect victims of crime? Are there ways that you can foresee this bill negatively effecting victims?
You can read the Bill here http://www.info.gov.za/view/DownloadFileAction?id=94436
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I think the Family, Child Abuse and Sexual Offences Unit (FCSU) are more and more relying on DNA evidence in rape crime scenes through the use of specially trained dogs that can track the smallest drop of blood or semen in a football sized field. This is an incredible way of matching perpetrators to sex crimes and should go a long way towards making for water tight court cases that bring perpetrators to justice.