DNA Fingerprinting

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Through much of the early 20th century, the scientific community was investigating a mysterious microscopic compound hidden in the organic tissue of the body. This molecule, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), was soon found to encode the genetic instructions for the development and function of all living things. These breakthroughs were of peripheral interest to the forensic field until 1985 when Dr. Alec Jeffreys discovered that sections of the DNA were as unique to the individual as fingerprints. The process for isolating and reading these sections of DNA was named DNA fingerprinting and far reaching applications for the process were theorised (Saferstein, 2010).
This process was soon put to the test. In 1983 and 1986 two fifteen-year-old girls were raped and murdered in Narborough, England. The primary suspect, a young kitchen porter, confessed to one of the murders however police were not convinced. Dr. Alec Jeffreys was contacted. Using his methodology, Jeffreys confirmed that the young porter did not match the DNA profile of the offender and after mass DNA tests of the surrounding …show more content…
These errors come in several forms including the mislabelling of DNA samples and cross-contamination between evidentiary samples, reference samples and DNA from the examiners themselves (Seattle Post, 2004). To minimise the risk of laboratory errors, beyond the self imposed procedures of forensic institutions, a series of guidelines have been issued outlining requirements for quality control and quality assurance procedures (DNA Advisory Board, 1998). Additionally certain specified standards have been enforced on some laboratories for inclusion in the Combined DNA Index System (Puri, 2001). As a result, practitioners have long claimed that the rate of laboratory error in DNA testing is so low as to be negligible (Thompson,

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