Abstract
The paper provides a review of current issues relating to the use of DNA profiling in forensic science. A short historical section gives the main statistical milestones that occurred during a rapid development of DNA technology and operational uses. Greater detail is then provided for interpretation issues involving STR DNA profiles, including:
methods that take account of population substructure in DNA calculations;
parallel work carried out by the US National Research Council;
the move away from multiple independence testing in favour of experiments that demonstrate the robustness of casework procedures;
the questionable practice of source attribution `with reasonable scientific certainty';
the effect on the interpretation of profiles obtained under increasingly sensitive techniques, the LCN technique in particular;
the use of DNA profiles as an intelligence tool;
the interpretation of DNA mixtures.
Experience of presenting DNA evidence within UK courts is also discussed. The paper then summarises a generic interpretation framework based on the concept of likelihood ratio within a hierarchy of propositions. Finally the use of Bayesian networks to interpret DNA evidence is reviewed.
Citation
L.A. Foreman. C. Champod. I.W. Evett. J.A. Lambert. S. Pope. "Interpreting DNA Evidence: A Review." Internat. Statist. Rev. 71 (3) 473 - 495, December 2003.
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