Suspects could be identified within minutes of committing a crime thanks to new technology developed by forensics experts.
The portable, high-speed equipment uses specially developed rapid profiling techniques to identify DNA from blood or tissue samples at the scene of a crime in a matter of minutes.
Currently, DNA samples have to be carefully lifted from any crime scene and transferred to a laboratory. The National DNA Database can then take several days to match a sample with a suspect.
No time for a getaway: The new technique means suspects could be identified within minutes (Posed by model)
LGC Forensics, which has developed the speeded-up technique, said it will give detectives a vital head start in their hunt for criminals.
Company managing director Dr Steve Allen told the Daily Telegraph: ‘Within 60 minutes of taking a sample it can produce a profile which can be transmitted to the DNA database and come back with a match.
‘It would be an intelligence tool that could allow police to identify and catch burglars, for example, while they still have stolen goods on their possession.
‘Once they have caught the suspect, they can use traditional forensic techniques as part of the evidence gathering if the case needs to go to court as the timescales are longer there.
‘It could also be used in border control situations to check whether two people who say they are related really are. We also envisage it being used to help identify disaster victims.’
Surplus to requirements? The analytical instincts of fictional detectives such as Hercule Poirot (right, played by David Suchet) could become redundant if the new system proves effective
Police are now testing out the RapiDNA system, which could become operational next year.
The technique ‘bypasses’ a number of DNA steps to make the process quicker and cheaper.
‘We wanted something that is easily portable and could be carried up several flights of stairs,’ LGC’s business development manager David Reardon said.
‘We are conducting field tests with pilot police forces around the country and if it is successful we see this becoming a basic tool that can be used to target volume crime such as burglaries and car crime.
‘DNA forensics can make a real impact in these crimes, but is may not be used often becuaes it is time consuming or perceived as expensive.
‘If police officers can get an answer to a suspects identity within an hour, however, it could mean these crimes can be resolved. Once it is proven there we could also see it being deployed in more serious or violent crimes.’
A spokesman for the National Policing Improvement Agency described the development as ‘tremendously exciting’.
‘The benefits of this new technology lie not only in detecting the guilty swiftly but also in eliminating the innocent from police inquiries,’ the spokesman added.
