DNA
The work of the DNA department includes the management of the local Northern Ireland DNA database, the analysis of Criminal Justice (CJ) samples taken from those arrested, the analysis of samples submitted directly from scenes of crime (Crime Database (CD)), samples arising from the Biology Team's work and samples requiring special treatment to improve the resulting analysis.
Samples are analysed using modern recovery, purification, amplification, separation and detection techniques and DNA profiles are obtained which consist, for each individual, of 22 numbers. This ability to translate biological material into a simple digital format allows for the rapid matching of profiles using large databases. CD profiles can thus be matched against each other (to link separate crime scenes) and against CJ profiles to match putative offenders to crime scenes.
Whilst the probabilities of profile matches can be accurately quantified mathematically, the interpretation of the meaning of the matched profile requires skilled, contextual evaluation by FSNI Reporting Officers in each and every case.
DNA Analysis with Capillary Electrophoresis
