Setting up of DNA database of criminals on the cards
DG says it can be made fully functional within a year provided desired resources
PHOTO: REUTERS
LAHORE:
Setting up of a deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) database of criminals is on the cards, said Punjab Forensic Science Agency (PFSA) Director General Dr Ashraf Tahir.
The project will cost around Rs600 million and the summary of the project has been sent to the authorities, he said. "We can make it fully functional within a year provided the desired resources are made available and the law is passed."
The system was introduced in the United States in 1998 and Ashraf also had played his role in it. A study was shared before the US Congress, seeking approval of the project. It revealed that at least 63% of the convicts committed the same crime after being released from jail.
Repeating the crime by a criminal, after the release, was the principle or concept behind setting up of a DNA database of criminals, said Ashraf. He added that the system has already been set up in 80 countries. In the US, DNA samples of at least 16 million criminals have been added since 1998, he asserted.
Ashraf pointed out that at least 0.3 million cases in which the investigators were clueless, have been solved. DNA was the most authentic evidence, he said, adding nothing can beat it.
The director general said after the establishment of PFSA, Pakistan also has the capability as well as technology. He said that once it was set up, DNA samples of criminals can be added up after collection from jail and arrests.
Ashraf said that these could also be categorised by the nature of crime. He said that the DNA database's benefits start gradually. "The more samples are in the database, the more beneficial it becomes. It does not produce results immediately but with the passage of time it does."
The importance of DNA in Pakistan had surfaced after the arrest of the killer of minor girls, Imran Ali, in Kasur. Ashraf shared that over 2,000 samples were collected, matched and re-matched in Kasur case and over 250 in a case in Dear Ghazi Khan and Pattoki.
"Once the DNA database is prepared, you do not need to go through all this exercise. It becomes far easier," explains Ashraf. He said that they were working on the project for the last few years. The summary was sent last year too but it could not be streamlined due to a few bureaucratic bottlenecks. He appreciated the role of the current home secretary for taking a personal interest in the matter.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 15th, 2019.
Setting up of a deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) database of criminals is on the cards, said Punjab Forensic Science Agency (PFSA) Director General Dr Ashraf Tahir.
The project will cost around Rs600 million and the summary of the project has been sent to the authorities, he said. "We can make it fully functional within a year provided the desired resources are made available and the law is passed."
The system was introduced in the United States in 1998 and Ashraf also had played his role in it. A study was shared before the US Congress, seeking approval of the project. It revealed that at least 63% of the convicts committed the same crime after being released from jail.
Repeating the crime by a criminal, after the release, was the principle or concept behind setting up of a DNA database of criminals, said Ashraf. He added that the system has already been set up in 80 countries. In the US, DNA samples of at least 16 million criminals have been added since 1998, he asserted.
Ashraf pointed out that at least 0.3 million cases in which the investigators were clueless, have been solved. DNA was the most authentic evidence, he said, adding nothing can beat it.
The director general said after the establishment of PFSA, Pakistan also has the capability as well as technology. He said that once it was set up, DNA samples of criminals can be added up after collection from jail and arrests.
Ashraf said that these could also be categorised by the nature of crime. He said that the DNA database's benefits start gradually. "The more samples are in the database, the more beneficial it becomes. It does not produce results immediately but with the passage of time it does."
The importance of DNA in Pakistan had surfaced after the arrest of the killer of minor girls, Imran Ali, in Kasur. Ashraf shared that over 2,000 samples were collected, matched and re-matched in Kasur case and over 250 in a case in Dear Ghazi Khan and Pattoki.
"Once the DNA database is prepared, you do not need to go through all this exercise. It becomes far easier," explains Ashraf. He said that they were working on the project for the last few years. The summary was sent last year too but it could not be streamlined due to a few bureaucratic bottlenecks. He appreciated the role of the current home secretary for taking a personal interest in the matter.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 15th, 2019.