Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy:
Process, Outcomes, Concerns, and Ethical Implementation
by Tonya M. Jordan
Department of Criminology and Justice, Loyola University New Orleans
Master’s Research and Thesis
2022
Table of Contents
Introduction
What Is Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy?
Overview of Traditional Forensic DNA Analysis
Early Forensic Applications of Genetic Genealogy
The Emergence Investigative Genetic Genealogy
The FIGG Research Process
Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy Policy and Practice
International Use of IGG
What Can Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy Accomplish?
Law Enforcement IGG Outcomes
Homicides
Sexual Assaults
Homicide/Sexual Assaults
Unidentified Human Remains
Nonviolent Crimes
Chronic Violent Offenders
Causes for Concern
Charting a Path Forward
Solutions
Conclusion
Appendix: Scudder et al.’s 2020 IGG Checklist for Law Enforcement
References
Introduction
In a ballroom at Sacramento State University in late August 2020, 45 victims and family survivors of the notorious Golden State Killer and East Area Rapist confronted the man responsible for decades of suffering. For over three days, they recounted the horror and pain that Joseph James DeAngelo brought into their lives four decades ago. The man known for many years only as the Golden State Killer and East Area Rapist (GSK/EAR) raped 45 women and violently murdered 13 people in California in the late 1970s and 1980s. Despite many thousands of hours of police investigation across eleven counties, the identity of the GSK/EAR remained unknown until he was identified by investigative genetic genealogy in the spring of 2018. He was convicted of thirteen murders and kidnappings in six cities and sentenced to life in prison.
News of Joseph DeAngelo’s arrest in April 2018 and how he was identified a full 43 years after his first violent attack caught the attention of law enforcement agencies and the public (Kennett, 2019, p. 107; Kling et al., 2021, p. 2; Phillips, 2018, p. 186). What followed was a flurry of debate over the ethics of law enforcement use of consumer genomic services and increased implementation of investigative genetic genealogy (IGG) in cold case investigations across the United States (Katsanis, 2020, p. 540). IGG is a complex process, and few understand how it actually works. It is at the same time a somewhat alarming practice, given the fact that it involves law enforcement use of genetic information and family trees. As an aide to the general understanding of this powerful but potentially problematic investigative technology, this paper seeks to explain what IGG is, how it works, what it can accomplish, what dangers it poses, and how it can be used ethically.
What is Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy?
Used by family historians and professional genealogists worldwide for family history research, genetic genealogy combines DNA testing with traditional genealogical research to determine family relationships (Kennett, 2019, p. 108). Forensic investigative genetic genealogy (FIGG) is the use of genetic genealogy by law enforcement to solve violent crimes and identify unknown victims (Kling et al., 2021, p. 2). Put simply, investigative genetic genealogy involves the use of crime scene DNA and genealogical research to identify an unknown person’s family members and thereby identify the person in question.
Overview of Traditional Forensic DNA Analysis
In order to truly understand the investigative genetic genealogy process, a closer look at traditional forensic DNA analysis is in order. The first conviction in the United States on the basis of crime scene DNA analysis occurred when serial rapist Tommie Andrews was convicted of sexual assault in Orlando in 1988. In the decades since, DNA evidence has become the gold standard in both convictions and exonerations.
Traditional forensic DNA testing as performed by law enforcement revolves around the analysis of short tandem repeats, or STRs. The law enforcement standard for DNA analysis in the U.S. was first established in 1998, when the FBI originally identified 13 polymorphic STR markers deemed "unique enough" for identifying one person among billions. This number was later expanded to 20. (Katsanis, 2020, p. 537). DNA analysis performed on the basis of STR marker analysis has some key benefits from a law enforcement and security perspective. It can be done with a very small amount of DNA, allows for easy sharing across multiple databases, and conveys very limited information about the donor's medical or physical characteristics. (Katsanis, 2020, p. 537).
The DNA Identification Act passed in 1994 provided for the creation of a national DNA database. Accordingly, the Combined Index DNA System (CODIS) was implemented in 1998, with the FBI’s STR standard for law enforcement DNA analysis serving as the basis for all forensic DNA testing and uploads to the new database (Katsanis, 2020, p. 537). Like most U.S. law enforcement systems, CODIS is organized along a series of jurisdictional tiers. These include the National DNA Index System (NDIS), State DNA Index System (SDIS), and Local DNA Index System (LDIS) (Katsanis, 2020, p. 538). Interestingly, the ongoing search for the GSK/EAR was one of the unsolved crime series cited as justification for the creation of a comprehensive law enforcement DNA database (Katsanis, 2020, p. 539). Further, its creation and subsequent use was essential to determining that the offender responsible for the East Area rapes was the same person who committed the Golden State Killer murders (Holes et al., 2018).
Prior to the advent of FIGG, CODIS helped identify a number of offenders on the basis of familial relationships. One early process for familial identification is partial matching. Partial matching occurs when laboratory personnel observe that two different DNA samples share a large number of common alleles[1]—large enough to constitute a familial relationship. Such happenstance observations have led to the identification an offender on the basis of a close familial match within CODIS, with perhaps the most well-known example being the identification of serial killer John Bittrolff when his brother's DNA, taken after a misdemeanor conviction, was observed to be a partial match to crime scene DNA from two homicide cases in Suffolk County, New York, in 2013 (Wickenheiser, 2019, p. 117).
Another familial DNA identification process utilized by law enforcement prior to IGG is familial searching. The forensic science behind partial matching and familial searching are essentially the same, with partial matching a serendipitous discovery and familial searching being a focused search for relatives of an unknown offender among other DNA profiles in CODIS (Wickenheiser, 2019, p. 117). The first-known successful familial search occurred in the United Kingdom in 2002 and resulted in a conviction in 2004 (Mateen et al., 2021, p. 2). The continued historical relevance of the GSK/EAR investigation is seen here as well. Bruce Herrington, whose brother and sister-in-law were brutally murdered by the GSK in 1980, publicly advocated for expanded DNA testing and familial searching in the State of California for almost twenty years (CBS 5 San Francisco News, 2018). However, familial searching within CODIS did not yield a match in that investigation, as no one closely related to Joseph DeAngelo had DNA a profile in the law enforcement database (Holes et al., 2018).
An example of successful familial searching in the U.S. is the Grim Sleeper cases in California. A suspect was identified in 2010 when a partial match was found in CODIS between crime scene DNA and the offender's son, who had been arrested for an unrelated offense. From this initial lead, law enforcement eventually arrested and charged Lonnie David Franklin, Jr. for the murder of nine women and one teenage girl between 1988 and 2007. Franklin was convicted and sentenced to death in 2016 (Katsanis, 2020, p. 538).
Forensically, partial matching and familial searching within CODIS have some limitations. DNA analysis performed according to the traditional law enforcement STR standard can identify relatives only at the level of sibling or parent/child. (Katsanis, 2020, p. 538; Kling et al., 2021, p. 1). Also, familial searching within CODIS is banned in some U.S. states[2] (Mateen et al., 2021, p. 2). And so, many violent crimes with offender DNA evidence remain unsolved and many victims remain unidentified, even with these techniques in use (Katsanis, 2020, p. 538).
Early Forensic Applications of Genetic Genealogy
As stated, genetic genealogy combines DNA testing with traditional genealogical research to determine familial relationships (Kennett, 2019, p. 108). Essentially, a person can take one of a variety of DNA tests, obtain a list of familial matches, and then use genealogical research to determine where those relatives fit into their family tree.
The testing and analysis of an individual’s Y chromosome[3] can determine a subject’s paternal line, and law enforcement has pursued forensic applications of this form of genetic genealogy with mixed results (Wickenheiser, 2019, p. 118). While the use of consumer Y-STR databases correctly identified Bryan Miller as the Phoenix Canal Killer in 2014, a suspect was misidentified in the murder of Angie Dodge in the same year (Phillips, 2018, p 186). The forensic use of Y-DNA analysis also misidentified a suspect in the GSK/EAR investigation in 2017 (Phillips, 2018, p. 186). King et al.'s 2006 study of Y-DNA genetic genealogy applications in the United Kingdom found it to be approximately 42% accurate for individuals with rare surnames and less so for those with common ones (Kennett, 2019, p. 108).
Another type of DNA testing analysis involves mitochondrial DNA, which is passed matrilineally with relatively little genetic variation over the course of millennia (MacLeod, 2014, p. 46). As such, it is useful for identifying a person’s maternal family line. Forensically, the U.S. Department of Defense has successfully used mitochondrial DNA testing and analysis to identify wartime skeletal remains from conflicts dating back to World War II (Scudder et al., 2019, p. 154).
Another previous forensic application of DNA genomics is predictive phenotyping, which analyses specific genetic markers on a person’s autosomal DNA[4] to predict key physical characteristics such as hair and eye color (Scudder et al., 2019, p. 154). Predictive phenotype analysis of crime scene DNA can help narrow down a pool of suspects on the basis of physical appearance, and advances in forensic technology are generating increasingly accurate predictive phenotyping tools (Scudder et al., 2019, p. 154). Predictive phenotyping was first used in a criminal investigation to help narrow down a pool of suspects in the case of serial killer Derrick Todd Lee in Louisiana in 2002 (Wickenheiser, 2019, p. 116).
The Emergence Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy
Two key developments lie at the heart of the evolution from these earlier forensic genetic genealogy applications to the forensic investigative genetic genealogy process that is now being used to solve homicide and sexual assault cold cases. The first of these developments is the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) autosomal DNA testing and offered by direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic genealogy companies. In contrast to the 13 to 20 STR markers used by law enforcement for DNA comparison, SNP testing examines over 650,000 points across the entire human genome (U.S. Dept. of Justice, 2019, pp. 2-3). This level of analysis is made possible through microarrays of genome-wide association studies which together include nearly 700,000 autosomal loci (Phillips, 2018, p 186).
In addition to determining the amount of DNA shared between two samples, SNP testing also identifies shared blocks of autosomal DNA. Genetic recombination of DNA as it passes from generation to generation results in larger shared blocks of identical DNA between closer relatives and shorter blocks between more distant relatives. Predictable levels of recombination make it possible to infer the degree of relatedness on the basis of the length of the blocks of shared identical DNA (Greytak et al., 2019, p. 105; U.S. Dept. of Justice, 2019, p. 3). In terms of the actual degrees of relatedness that can be defined, the jump from a small number of STRs to over half a million SNPs is enormous in scope and accuracy (Kennett, 2019, p. 109; Phillips, 2018, p. 187). Whereas STR comparisons can only identify relatives at the level of siblings or parent/child, SNP testing can identify matches at the level of fourth cousins and beyond, as well as a host of half relationships (Kennett, 2019, p. 109).
This advanced genetic genealogy was first made available as an at-home DNA test when 23andMe put the very first SNP autosomal DNA test on the market in 2007 (Kling et al., 2021, p. 2). The test proved to be quite popular with consumers, and other genetic genealogy companies soon joined the trend and released at-home SNP autosomal DNA tests of their own. Family Tree DNA (FTDNA) launched its SNP test in 2010, followed by Ancestry in 2012, and MyHeritage in 2016. (Kling et al., 2021, p. 2). These four DTCs are the current leaders in the genetic genealogy industry. The demand for consumer genomics has continued to grow, and as of August 2019, a total of over 36 million people had had their DNA tested by one of the four major DTCs (Kling et al., 2021, p. 2). It is estimated that the current consumer genomics testing population is around 100 million (Kennett, 2019, p. 108).
With an at-home SNP autosomal DNA test, individuals interested in determining their family’s biogeographic origins and/or expanding their family tree can purchase a test from a DTC genetic genealogy company. The tests utilize buccal or inner cheek swabs obtained by the user at home and then mailed to the company of purchase for testing. Once a user’s DNA test has been processed, the company in question uploads a raw data version of their DNA profile to the company’s database. The user then receives a list of their matches—which constitutes the user’s relatives which have been identified among the other users in that company’s database.
While FTDNA allows users to upload profiles generated by other DTC companies for comparison with those in their database, Ancestry, 23andMe, and MyHeritage do not allow uploads or cross-company comparisons (Greytak et al., 2019, p. 106). To bridge this corporate gap in the genetic genealogy research process, genealogists Curtis Rogers and John Olson created GEDmatch in 2010. SNP DNA data profiles generated by any DTC or lab can be uploaded to GEDmatch and searched against one another for familial matches from outside of their original testing company’s user database (Kennett, 2019, p. 110). By 2018, over a million users had uploaded their profiles to GEDmatch (Katsanis, 2020, p. 541).
After receiving their list of matches, a user can then research and create a family tree to include all of their matches using the second key component of investigative genetic genealogy—the vast array of genealogical records now available online. As the market for DTC DNA tests grew, so too did the body of digitized historical records available for online genealogical research (Kennett, 2019, p. 108). The leader in the movement to make family history research available and searchable online is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, which over the past two decades has copied and uploaded tens of thousands of genealogical collections from archives throughout the United States and provided access to many of them online for free (Kling et al., 2021, p. 7). Even more records are available to the public on microfilm at the Church’s Family Research Library located in Salt Lake City. Ancestry and other commercial genealogy companies provide online access to many digitized records as well via paid subscription (Kling et al., 2021, p. 7). The combination of these two powerful tools—DTC DNA tests and digitized genealogical records—has allowed for the creation of family trees at a level of unparalleled detail and reach.
Professional genetic genealogists with the nonprofit DNA Adoption took genetic genealogy in an investigative direction when they pioneered a methodology for using DTC DNA testing in tandem with online genealogical research to identify specific unknown relatives. DNA Adoption provides online resources, tutorials, and workshops on their methodology, and family researchers and volunteers have used their techniques successfully in thousands of “unknown parentage searches” conducted for adoptees, foundlings, and donor-conceived individuals looking for their biological parents (Kling et al., 2021, pp. 2,7). The use of this methodology has also resulted in the discovery of many cases of misattributed parentage, wherein the social parent is not actually a person's biological parent. Corollary to this is the frequent discovery of unknown half-siblings as well (Kling et al., 2021, pp. 1-2). An early forensic application of these techniques has been in the identification of victims of mass disasters (Mateen et al., 2021, p. 4). One example of this type of usage is the Fundación Anthroplogiá Forense de Guatemala (FAFG)’s work to identify 42 individuals exhumed from mass graves after the end of the Guatemalan civil war conflict (García et al., 2009, p. 250).
Interestingly, it was an unknown parentage search that opened the door to early law enforcement use of genetic genealogy. In 2015, the San Bernardino County police asked genetic genealogist Barbara Rae-Venter to help identify the biological parents of a 31-year-old woman who had been abandoned as a child at a trailer park in Scotts Valley, California, by a man named Larry Vanner who had claimed to be her father. DNA testing had determined that Vanner was in fact not the woman’s father, so Rae-Venter used the DNA Adoption methodology to determine that the woman was actually Dawn Beaudin, the infant daughter of Armand and Denise Beaudin who had disappeared along with her mother from Manchester, New Hampshire, in December 1981 (Wickham, 2020). Police investigation then determined that Beaudin’s mother had been murdered. Rae-Venter used the methodology to reveal that the man claiming to be Larry Vanner was actually Terry Rasmussen. Further police investigation showed that Rasmussen had killed Denise Beaudin and then kidnapped her baby daughter Dawn. Rasmussen’s DNA has since been connected to four additional homicides (Gafni, 2018).
Rae-Venter and law enforcement’s skillful unraveling of this incredible chain of events marks the advent of investigative genetic genealogy. As this example clearly shows, the processes developed for use in unknown parentage cases are in many ways the very same techniques now used in IGG (Kennett, 2019, p. 108; Wickenheiser, 2019, p. 114). Since the Rasmussen case in 2015, investigative genetic genealogy has yielded key discoveries in over 200 violent crimes worldwide.
The FIGG Research Process
So how does forensic investigative genealogy work? As noted above, FIGG relies on SNP autosomal DNA testing. Therefore, the process begins with SNP testing of crime scene DNA, which is typically collected from semen, bloodstains, or body parts (Thompson et al., 2020, p. 1). In the case of Joseph DeAngelo, a SNP profile was derived by testing a semen sample from a 1980s GSK crime scene (Thompson et al., 2020, p. 2). FamilyTreeDNA is the only DTC genetic genealogy company that performs SNP testing of crime scene DNA. Other U.S. providers of this specialized testing include Parabon NanoLabs located in Reston, Virginia; Bode Technology Group located in Lorton, Virginia; DNA Solutions located in Oklahoma City; and Othram Inc. located near Houston.
Most of the DTC genetic genealogy companies do not allow law enforcement to access their databases, with FTDNA being the only exception. Therefore, law enforcement is not able to compare crime scene DNA profiles with those of Ancestry, 23andMe, or My Heritage users unless they have a warrant allowing them to access company data. Therefore, law enforcement research is confined exclusively to the FTDNA and GEDmatch databases. Both of these companies now allow users to opt their profiles out of law enforcement searches, so in reality, only a portion of each database is available for investigative use (Kling et al., 2021, p. 8). It is important to note that the majority of DTC genetic genealogy consumers are of European descent. Likewise, the majority of DNA profiles available for IGG research in the FTDNA and GEDmatch databases are primarily Caucasian (Katsanis, 2020, p. 541). Once a profile’s top matches have been identified in GEDmatch and FTDNA, all of the matches' shared connections are evaluated to familial identify clusters. These clusters indicate the different branches on the person’s family tree.
The next task is to build a family tree for each cluster, with all matches in each cluster eventually placed within that individual tree (Kling et al., 2021, p. 8). In a large sense, this is where the genetic portion of the process ends and traditional genealogical research begins. Using the historical documents, vital records, and archival newspaper articles common to genealogical research, family trees must be constructed for the subjects’ DNA matches so that a common pair of ancestors can be identified for all of them (García, 2021, p. 113). The identification of a common pair of ancestors is a crucial finding in the FIGG process, as this couple's descendants form the pool of candidates (García, 2021, p. 113; Kling et al., 2021, p. 8). The specific pool of candidates is created by then building the family tree forward in time—a process known as "descendancy research" or "reverse genealogy"—to identify all of the descendants of that one pair of common ancestors (Kling et al., 2021, pp. 7-8). Descendancy research involves the identification of living people. Some information needed for this process is available in traditional genealogy databases. Other essential sources of descendancy information are obituaries, social media, and sites such as BeenVerified and Intelius (Kling et al., 2021, p. 7). Logic, creative problem-solving, and host of online genetic genealogical utilities all play a role in this part of the process as well (Greytak, 2019, p. 108).
The traditional genealogical research is the most time-consuming portion of the FIGG process (Greytak et al., 2019, p. 107). In terms of time investment, Thompson et. al's 2020 study on the identification of ten unknown SNP DNA profiles using FIGG methods reported that researchers spent two to three hours on an initial “triage analysis” of each case to determine the strength of the matches, identify clusters, and gauge the availability of the necessary identifying information for the strongest matches. Beyond that, five of the searches required 200 to 300 research hours to resolve. One case, however, was solved in just three hours (Thompson et al., 2020, p. 3). This disparity is borne out by actual FIGG cases. In the GSK/EAR investigation, genealogists spent four months reconstructing Joseph DeAngelo’s family tree back to the level of fourth cousins, performing reverse research, and identifying a pool of candidates (Wickenheiser, 2019, p. 115). In contrast, the DNA Doe Project successfully identified the remains of Marcia King, an unknown “Jane Doe” found murdered in Miami County, Ohio, in 1981, in just four hours (Winsor, 2018).
Once the FIGG research process has identified a pool of familial candidates, traditional police investigation then carries the work forward by eliminating candidates on the basis of location, age, gender, access to the crime scene, and other case-specific factors (Wickenheiser, 20119, p. 114). Cases processed through Parabon Labs also have access to their Snapshot DNA Phenotyping technology to identify the most likely candidates within a family tree on the basis of eye, hair, and skin color (Greytak, 2019, p. 109).
The pool of candidates can often be narrowed down only as low as the offspring of a single couple. This is due to the fact that full siblings share identical family trees. At that point, testing of the various siblings or their descendants—referred to as reference sampling—is needed to determine which sibling in that family is the subject in question (García, 2021, p. 113; Kling et al., 2021, p. 8). It is typically at this point in the process that a single person of interest becomes the focus of the investigation. Law enforcement usually then collects a surreptitious DNA sample from that person for confirmation (Greytak, 2019, p. 109; Katsanis, 2020, p. 550). In the GSK/EAR investigation, DeAngelo was placed under surveillance once police investigative work had identified him as the most likely candidate in the family tree. DNA samples were taken from a discarded tissue and a swab of his car door handle, and the results showed a direct match to the GSK crime scene DNA contained in CODIS (Wickenheiser, 2019, p. 115). A CODIS match constitutes the successful resolution of the IGG process, and it is this official CODIS match that serves as the basis of arrest and charges and which is presented as evidence in court. As such, FIGG is best and properly understood strictly as a lead-generating process (Greytak et al., 2019, p. 1100; Kennett, 2019, p. 113; Wickenheiser, 2019, p. 115). It in and of itself does not constitute evidence of guilt and is not presented as such.
In terms of the effectiveness of IGG, there have been no large-scale studies performed to date, but a few small-scale analyses provide some insight. A 2018 statistical analysis of familial connections in DTC databases performed by the Coop Lab at the University of California Davis found that each DNA profile in a database containing a total of one million profiles would have at least 20 matches at the level of third or fourth cousin, and 25% of the profiles would have at least one second cousin match (Kennett, 2019, p. 114). Gymrek et al’s 2013 analysis of the MyHeritage user database found that 60% of individuals of European-descent had a third cousin or closer match, and 15% had matches at the second cousin level or closer. The same study found that if only 1% of the population has a DNA profile in an accessible database, there would be a 90% chance of finding at least one third cousin for any given person (Tillmar et al., 2021, p. 1). As of early 2019, more than 80% of the FIGG cases submitted to Parabon Labs yielded a match at the level of third cousin or higher (Greytak, et al., 2019, p. 107). DNA samples of European descent have the highest probability of strong and plentiful matches due to the fact that the majority of DTC consumers are people of European descent (Garcia, 2021, p. 115; Greytak et al., 2019, p. 107).
Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy Policy and Practice
Currently, there is no formal policy governing the use of IGG in the U.S., and law enforcement and genealogists have only a trio of guidelines to refer to for best FIGG practices. These include the statement on IGG released by the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors (ASCLD) in October 2019, the U.S. Department of Justice (USDOJ)’s interim FIGG policy released in November 2019, and the Scientific Working Group on DNA Analysis Methods (SWGDAM)’s February 2020 overview of FIGG.
A nonprofit professional society for crime laboratory directors, the ASCLD provides a range of information and resources for forensic testing and analysis best practices. In its official statement on FIGG, the ASCLD endorses its use strictly for “major crimes against the person,” (ASCLD, 2019, p. 2) and with “appropriate checks on security and privacy” (ASCLD, 2019, p. 1). The ASCLD advises laboratory leadership to take an active role in advising law enforcement agencies on case and sample criteria. Interestingly, the ASCLD’s statement also supports the use of FIGG in active cases (as opposed to just “cold cases’), provided there are no useful matches in CODIS (ASCLD, 2019, p. 2).
The USDOJ released an eight-page interim policy to provide “internal guidance” on the use of FIGG by U.S. law enforcement agencies. This policy makes specific recommendations for case selection criteria, stating “investigative agencies may initiate a process of considering the use of [FIGG] when a case involves a violent crime and the candidate forensic sample is from a putative perpetrator, or when a case involves what is reasonably believed by investigators to be the unidentified remains of a suspected homicide victim” (U.S. Dept. of Justice, 2019, p. 4). The policy then goes on to define “violent crime” as a homicide or sexual offense. Cases must also be investigated using traditional methods, and all traditional leads must be exhausted prior to the implementation of FIGG (U.S. Dept. of Justice, 2019, p. 5). The interim policy also provides guidelines for FIGG collaboration between the investigative agency, CODIS administration, and the prosecutor, and requires disclosure of law enforcement activity and intent to any DTC providers used and any relatives contacted after being identified by the FIGG process (U.S. Dept. of Justice, 2019, p. 6). Finally, the interim policy makes provisions for the secure sharing and storage of all genetic and genealogical data used in an FIGG investigation (U.S. Dept. of Justice, 2019, pp. 7-8).
Composed of approximately 50 scientists from forensic laboratories at all levels of the U.S. criminal justice system, the SWGDAM creates national scientific guidelines for DNA testing and analysis. While the SWGDAM has not performed scientific validation of the SNP autosomal DNA tests and analysis performed by DTC genetic genealogy companies or laboratories, their 2020 statement on FIGG provides an overview of the process and makes specific recommendations for its use by law enforcement. These include conducting CODIS searches and other forms of traditional investigation before considering the use of FIGG, limiting its use to cases of “serious violent felonies” and the “identification of human remains,” and establishing policies and procedures for maintaining transparency and privacy at all stages of the IGG process (SWGDAM, 2020, p. 6).
International Use of FIGG
In direct response to news of Joseph DeAngelo’s identification and arrest in April 2018, several other countries began exploring the application and viability of FIGG within their own law enforcement agencies (Scudder et al., 2020, p. 1; Thompson, 2020, p. 1; Tillmar et al., 2021, p. 2.). Many of their findings accord with the recommendations of the USDOJ, ASCLD, and SWGDAM. Given the top-down structure of other police forces, research and policy creation will likely precede the actual use of FIGG in these countries.
In 2020, a group of seven criminal justice researchers from the United Kingdom and Ireland conducted a study into the potential effectiveness of FIGG in the U.K. by having genetic genealogists attempt to identify ten unnamed DNA profiles. Four out of the ten individuals in their volunteer sample were successfully identified using FIGG (Thompson et al., 2020, p. 1). On the basis of this 40% solve rate, researchers concluded that further exploration of the ethical implementation of FIGG in the U.K. is a worthy use of criminal justice resources (Thompson et al., 2020, p. 6).
Citing the success of the GSK/EAR investigation, members of the Australian federal police and forensic laboratory scientists conducted an overview of the adaptability of FIGG techniques for use in the Australian criminal justice system in 2020 (Scudder et al., 2020, p. 1). Their evaluation covered such diverse topics as security concerns involved in relying on foreign laboratories for SNP testing of crime scene DNA, financial costs versus benefits, the size of the Australian portion of the GEDmatch database, Australian laws concerning privacy and DNA collection and testing, DTC cybersecurity, and more. Their research concluded with a 24-point best practices “checklist” for Australian law enforcement agencies interested in implementing IGG (Scudder et al., 2020, p. 7).
In Sweden, the arrest of Joseph DeAngelo prompted the Swedish Police Authority to launch a legal inquiry into the feasibility of using IGG in Sweden (Tillmar et al., 2021, p. 2). Similar to U.S. and Australian measures, this inquiry explored issues such as case criteria and security considerations (Tillmar et al., 2021, pp. 2-3). The Swedish inquiry also included a pilot case study focusing on a highly-publicized unsolved murder of a 56-year-old woman and an 8-year-old boy in Linkoping, Sweden, in October 2004 (The Guardian, 2020). The FIGG investigation of the case involved complex testing analysis of three partial DNA samples and was successfully solved. Interestingly, there were no close matches with the crime scene DNA in GEDmatch, but the FTDNA database yielded 890 matches. Of these, the top 28 matches were researched using traditional genealogical methods (Tillmar et al., 2021, p. 5). During the course of the investigation, one specific part of the country emerged as an area of interest, and 15 residents of that area volunteered to take a reference DNA test. One of these volunteers matched the perpetrator at the level of second cousin (Tillmar et al., 2021, p. 5). The offender Daniel Nyqvist was correctly identified by the study’s genealogists and investigators and confessed to the murders when brought in for questioning (Tillmar et al., 2021, pp. 2, 5). Nyqvist was convicted of both homicides in September 2020 (Barron’s, 2020). On the basis of this outcome and other considerations, the Swedish Police Authority and Swedish National Board of Forensic Medicine police moved forward with further evaluation of the use of FIGG in Sweden. According to Scudder et al, this continued formal exploration will include “the set-up of national guidelines that cover criteria and conditions on the cases to be selected, properties and characteristics of DNA, expectations based on the database composition and possibility to perform genealogical work (availability of national records, etc.). Such national guidelines…is one way forward to transparently control and balance the utilization of this important tool so that IGG can be used in accordance with user privacy and database user terms and conditions, only when absolutely necessary and taking legal aspects and ethical considerations into account" (Tillmar et al., 2021, p. 6).
What Can Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy Accomplish?
While FIGG was used to successfully identify a handful of offenders and victims prior to April 2018, it was the news of the arrest of Joseph James DeAngelo as the Golden State Killer and East Area Rapist that month that brought IGG to the attention of the public and law enforcement agencies (Kennett, 2019, p. 107; Kling et al., 2021, p. 2; Phillips, 2018, p. 186). What followed was a flurry of debate over the ethics of law enforcement use of consumer genomic services and increased implementation of FIGG in cold case investigations across the United States. While the next section of this paper addresses the many legal, privacy, and security concerns surrounding FIGG, we will now review the actual law enforcement outcomes of IGG investigations conducted in the U.S.
Law Enforcement FIGG Outcomes
Using references in peer-reviewed articles in scholarly journals in tandem with news reports, this paper features a compiled census of 192 key criminal justice discoveries made by FIGG in the U.S. These include the identification of offenders accused of homicide (47), sexual assault (20), homicide/sexual assault (41), and nonviolent crimes (3), as well as previously unidentified human remains (51). The overwhelming majority of the human remains identified by IGG included in this census are individuals believed to be victims of homicide. Two of them are confirmed to have committed suicide, and a few of them may have died by natural causes or misadventure. While this census does capture the bulk of confirmed current FIGG “solves,” it is not intended as a definitive or exhaustive account of all U.S. law enforcement FIGG outcomes to date.
Homicides
* Indicates cases that originated as unidentified human remains.
Sexual Assaults
Homicide/Sexual Assaults
Unidentified Human Remains
Nonviolent Crimes
Chronic Violent Offenders
Of particular importance from a criminal justice standpoint is the fact that 46 of the 91 offenders included in this census have evidence of serial offending. This 53% serial offender rate among FIGG solves brings the true power of FIGG into sharp focus. It is an established tenet of criminology that roughly 5% of the population is responsible for over 50% of crimes committed (Moffitt, 1993, p. 676). It has also been demonstrated that this small group of chronic offenders is also responsible for the majority of the violent crimes (Elliot et al., 1987, p. 506; Piquero et al., 2007, p. 18). Numerous longitudinal studies have replicated these findings, including the Dunedin New Zealand Multidisciplinary Health Study; the 1958 Philadelphia birth cohort study; the Puerto Rico Birth Cohort Study; the Philadelphia and Providence perinatal projects; the Racine, WI, birth cohorts; and the Cambridge Study; as well as longitudinal studies conducted in Denmark and Finland (Piquero et al., 2007, p. 18).
Examples of specific findings include Wolfgang et al.'s 1972 study of the 10,000 men included in the Philadelphia Birth Cohort, which found that 6% of the offenders in the sample were responsible for 52% of the crimes committed by the entire group (Moffitt, 1993, p. 676; Piquero et al., 2007, p. 18). Elliot et al.'s 1987 analysis of the National Youth Data Survey identified "a small subgroup of serious violent offenders who were actively involved in multiple serious violent offenses every year of the study." The size of this subgroup was 4% of the total sample population. (Elliot et al., 1987, p. 506). Moffitt et al.’s 1989 analysis of the Dunedin New Zealand Multidisciplinary Health Study found that the rate of conviction for violent offenses for young males is between 3% and 6% (Moffitt, 1993, p. 678).
In addition to committing the majority of violent crimes, this same criminal population is also responsible for a range of nonviolent crimes as well (Elliot, et al., 1987, p. 493). As explained by Elliot et al., "[T]here is some consensus that individual offending rates increase with time in the career and that the crime mix is characterized by diversification rather than specialization." For this finding, they cite a host of leading criminology researchers including Alfred Blumenstein, Jacqueline Cohen, Soumyo Moitra, David Farrington, Dean Rojeck, Maynard Erickson, Joan Petersilia, Lyle Shannon, Donna Hamparian, and Marvin Wolfgang. (Elliot et al., 1987, p. 506). Gottfredson and Hirschi's general theory of crime also holds that most chronic offenders engage in a wide variety of crimes, both nonviolent and violent. Their conclusion on the versatility of chronic offenders rests on a body of criminological research performed by Michael Hindelang, Marvin Wolfgang, Thorsten Sellin, Rojek, Erickson, Lee Robins, and Hans Eysenck. (Gottfredson & Hirschi, 1990, pp. 91-94).
Viewed from the perspective of chronic violent offending, FIGG emerges as a powerful tool for reducing crime across the board. As the census of FIGG solves featured above shows, 53% of the offenders identified have been suspected, arrested, or convicted of additional crimes ranging from illicit drug use, financial fraud, and armed robbery; to violent offenses such as sexual assault and homicide. As noted by Director of the New York State Police Crime Laboratory System Ray Wickenheiser in his 2019 article on FIGG in Forensic Science International, "the existing cycle of recidivism represents a growing opportunity for disruption of a criminal career early in its cycle, which can prevent future victimization and associated costs to both the individual and society" (Wickenheiser, 2019, p. 115). As Wickenheiser notes, Joseph DeAngelo presents a “classic example of violent crime recidivism,” with his first serial offenses being burglaries, followed by rape, and then homicide/rape (Wickenheiser, 2019, p. 115). Had FIGG been available and employed after the first sexual assaults in DeAngelo’s crime series, dozens of rapes and eleven murders could have been prevented.
A number of criminologists believe that the evidence to identify a sizable cohort of violent offenders in the U.S. sits unprocessed in jurisdictions across the country. Since the 1980s, thousands of sexual assault kits (SAKs) have gone untested and are still in police storage. While exact numbers are lacking, researchers have estimated that as many as 400,000 untested SAKs are currently in U.S. police custody (Strom et al., 2021, p. 1).
Some jurisdictions have committed to having their backlogged SAKs tested in recent years, and the criminal justice returns on those SAKs have been revealing. Lovell et al.'s 2018 study of 1000 newly-tested SAKs from the backlog in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, found that 39% of the new profiles were linked to serial offenses (Lovell et al., 2018, p. 106). Their 2017 study of the same found that many serial sex offenders victimize people they know as well as strangers, thus demonstrating the importance of testing all SAKs—even when the offender is known to the victim (Lovell et al., 2017, pp. 70-71). The researchers concluded that, given that “serial sexual offending is quite common,” law enforcement should investigate each sexual assault as if it was a serial offense as a matter of general rape prevention (Lovell et al., 2017, pp. 75-76).
Lovell et al.’s findings were supported by economist and national forensic science consultant Paul J. Speaker’s 2019 meta review of studies on the economic and criminal justice returns of testing backlogged SAKs, which found an average 22% probability that a CODIS hit from a newly-tested SAK will lead to a conviction (Speaker, 2019, p. 22). Speaker also found that testing backlogged SAKs yields a return on economical investment ranging from 9,874% to 64,529% in terms of preventing additional assaults and the costs associated with them (Speaker, 2019, p. 18) The jurisdictional returns of SAK testing are quite clear as well. Lovell et al. found that 25% of the newly tested SAKs resulted in new indictments, and 76% of these new indictments resulted in conviction (Lovell et al., 2018, p. 106).
As this paper has shown, the outcome of a successful FIGG investigation is the uploading of the offender’s DNA to CODIS. On the basis of the CODIS match, the offender is arrested, charged, and often convicted. Many criminologists see clearly the promise of IGG in the context of violent chronic offenders and the large banks of untested SAKs. Notable criminologist and Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences Fellow Matt DeLisi published an article in Forensic Science International in 2018 advocating strongly for the testing of the hundreds of thousands of backlogged SAKs and pointed to IGG as the most viable way of identifying the 5% of the population that are serial violent criminals among those newly-generated DNA profiles. It is his belief that testing backlogged SAKs and then investigating those profiles using FIGG is the surest and best way to identify and prosecute a large chunk of that 5% of the population (DeLisi, 2018, pp. e20-e21.)
Causes for Concern
The use of this new investigative technology involving unprecedented law enforcement use of consumer genetic and familial information brings forth a host of concerns. These include issues of privacy, security, legal questions, scientific concerns, and more (Scudder et al., 2020, p. 1). This section will touch on each of these and explore the more complex ones in depth.
A central concern in the debate around FIGG is the legality of law enforcement access to and use of genetic and familial information. On this issue, some commentators point to the fact that current U.S. law does not provide for compulsory DNA sampling and testing of all people formally charged with a crime. The implication here being that, since law enforcement does not have carte blanche access to the DNA of people who have been arrested, logic would dictate that they should not then have access to the millions of DNA profiles uploaded for family research purposes (Ram et al., 2019, p. 1). While this argument may ring true on an intuitive level, a few considerations are in order. The first of these is the fact that law enforcement does not have access to any actual DNA samples when using DTC genetic genealogy databases. Matches, their degree of relatedness, and information about their shared DNA blocks are the extent of the information available to DTC genealogy database users (Kennett, 2019, p. 112).
In terms of actual U.S. laws which are applicable to law enforcement use of genetic data, there are four pieces of legislation to be considered. These are the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), Health Insurance Policy and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and Stored Communications Act (SCA) (Ram et al., 2018, pp. 2-4). None of these, however, contain provisions that would prohibit the practice of FIGG.
While the Fourth Amendment protects against search and seizure without a warrant, this protection does not apply to information voluntarily shared with a third party. Therefore, DNA profiles voluntarily uploaded to DTC databases are not protected from access by law enforcement under this Amendment (Ramjee & Ringrose, 2020, pp. 179-180). There has been debate as to whether the third-party doctrine is feasible in the digital age wherein citizens routinely turn over key information about their lives, movements, and whereabouts to third parties such as cell phone companies, internet search engines, and email service providers (Ram et al., 2018, p. 3). However, the Supreme Court upheld the warrant requirement for law enforcement access to data generated by cell phone towers in Carpenter v. United States in 2018 (Rumfelt, 2018). This ruling confirmed the validity of the third party doctrine in the modern, digital age.
While the GINA prohibits access to individuals’ DNA data, it does so only in the case of employers and health insurers. And while the HIPAA protects DNA data held by healthcare-related entities from law enforcement access, this protection does not extend to DTC genetic genealogy companies (Ramjee & Ringrose, 2020, p. 180). The Stored Communications Act allows law enforcement to access online digital information via court order. However, the SCA does not explicitly apply to genetic data held by private companies (Ram et al., 2020, p. 4). In the absence of prohibitive legislation, law enforcement use of IGG is permissible in the United States. However, lack of legislation also means that its practice is unregulated, and negative outcomes stemming from improper usage of the technique cannot easily be challenged in a court of law.
Law enforcement use of consumer genomics raises many questions concerning the expectation and protection of privacy at a level in alignment with Democratic principles. As Wickenheiser points out, while innocent people are regularly scrutinized and eliminated in the course of traditional criminal investigations, coming under scrutiny via the FIGG research process entails access to genetic data and possibly sensitive familial information as well (Wickenheiser, 2019, p. 115). The complex nature of the FIGG process serves to heighten general privacy concerns, as so few individuals have a genuine understanding of what information is accessed in the course of FIGG research and how it is used.
Privacy concerns regarding the use of FIGG begin with the SNP test itself. As noted earlier, STR DNA testing and analysis yields little in terms of extended familial relations and health information. The whole genome microarrays used for SNP testing, on the other hand, reveal much larger amounts of sensitive information about an individual. It is important to note, however, that DTC genetic genealogy companies do not share raw genetic data with its users or with law enforcement agencies. The only information available is the amount of DNA shared and the length of the shared segments (Kennett, 2019, p. 112).
More privacy issues come into play with the uploading of a DNA profile to a DTC database and matching to other users in that database. Here again, though, it is important to understand what information can be accessed and what cannot. Ancestry and 23andMe do not allow law enforcement to access their databases in any way (Greytak et al., 2019, p. 106). Given that Ancestry is the largest DTC genealogy company, this means that a large bulk of consumer genomic data is wholly unavailable to law enforcement. MyHeritage allows law enforcement to upload DNA profiles to its database only with a court order. FTDNA allows law enforcement to utilize its database with "legal documentation" (Greytak et al., 2019, p. 106). However, FTDNA now offers an opt-out feature whereby users can exclude their profiles from law enforcement research (Kennett, 2019, p. 112).
In the spring of 2018, the owners of GEDmatch were wholly unaware that their database was being used by the GSK/EAR investigation until Joseph DeAngelo’s arrest was announced in the media (Kennett, 2019, p. 111). Soon after, GEDmatch informed its users of law enforcement use of the database. In the years since, GEDmatch has updated their Terms of Service to allow law enforcement usage, but only in cases of violent crime or to identify remains (Greytak et al., 2019, p. 106), and it now requires all users to opt in to sharing their data with law enforcement (Kennett, 2019, p. 112). GEDmatch was acquired by Verogen in December 2019, and soon after all EU users were opted out of the law enforcement portion of the database in accordance with the EU's General Data Protection Regulation. EU users then had to consent again to having their information made available to law enforcement (Thompson et al., 2020, p. 6). Verogen updated its terms of service in January 2021 to allow DNA from unidentified remains to be compared to its entire database (Kling et al., 2021, p. 8).
It is important to note that, even with all of these policies in place, it would not be possible for FTDNA or GEDmatch to detect covert law enforcement usage of its entire database (Kennett, 2019, p. 112). And even when these policies are followed, there are likely many instances in which DNA profiles are being uploaded and made available to law enforcement without the subject’s awareness or consent. Such is the case when a researcher uploads a client or family member’s profile, or an adult uploads a minor's profile (Kennett, 2019, p. 112). Post-mortem privacy is another issue in this regard. Family genealogists may choose to have a deceased family member's DNA tested and uploaded for family research reasons. This begs the question of which descendants have the right to consent to being opted-in to law enforcement research on behalf of the deceased (Kling et al., 2021, p. 9). It is also true that DTC companies and GEDmatch users have no protection against the databases being closed, acquired, or made available for other purposes. One case in point is 23andMe's 2018 decision to allow the GlaxoSmithKline pharmaceutical company to utilize its DNA database for the development of new drugs (García, 2021, pp. 115-116).
Some argue that many of these privacy concerns are mitigated by the wholly voluntary nature of DTC genetic genealogy usage (Greytak et al., 2019, p. 107). While that argument may carry some validity, individuals who have never used DTC services of any kind could still come under law enforcement scrutiny due to the presence of a family member's DNA profile in a genetic genealogy database (Kling et al., 2021, p. 9). As stated by Fullerton and Rohlfs, “the decisions of individuals to contribute their own genetic information inadvertently exposes many others across their family tree who may not be aware of or interested in their genetic relationships going public" (Fullerton and Rohlfs, 2018). Also, the decision of an individual in one country to upload their DNA profile could impact their relatives in other countries, potentially causing those relatives to become ensnared in the criminal justice system of a foreign country (Kling et al., 2021, p. 9). For all of these reasons and more, it is King’s College Professor of Genetics Denise Syndercombe Court’s professional opinion that “the privacy and governance of genetic collections should be at the forefront of all providers' minds, and information about both the benefits and the risks to individuals should be clearly promoted, rather than buried in the small print" (Syndercombe, 2018, p. 203).
Privacy concerns continue into the traditional investigative portion of the FIGG process. Most U.S. states allow law enforcement to collect and test surreptitious DNA samples without a warrant on the rationale that the DNA material in question has been discarded and is therefore not subject to the laws or expectation of privacy. However, it is not known how many innocent people's DNA has been surreptitiously collected and tested as a result of FIGG investigations (Kennett, 2019, p. 113). Nor is it clear what happens to surreptitious DNA samples that did not match the crime scene DNA in question.
As law enforcement use of GEDmatch and FTDNA increases, so does the threat of those sites coming under cyberattack. GEDmatch was the target of a sophisticated hack in July 2020, and there is no official account of the type and amount of data accessed (Scudder et al., 2020, p. 5). The possibility of data acquisition or loss from DTC genealogy companies poses a serious security risk (García, 2021, pp. 115-116). Security concerns also come into play regarding how sensitive information uncovered in the course of FIGG research is accessed and stored. The same applies to the handling and storage of reference DNA samples collected from close family members.
Another area of concern is the lack of regulation and accreditation in the field of genealogy. There is no industry-standard for the training or accreditation of professional genealogists, and no established measures for gauging an individual genealogist’s skill level (Garcia, 2021, p. 115; Kling et al., 2021, p. 7). Thus, there is no framework for evaluating the expertise of genealogists who seek to assist with IGG research (Kennett, 2019, p. 113). And too, a lot of IGG work is currently being done by volunteers. This dynamic poses serious challenges to maintaining accountability and incorporating informed practices around the execution of FIGG research (Kennett, 2019, p. 113).
Similarly, the SNP tests developed and used by DTC genealogy companies have not been scientifically validated or subjected to peer review (Scudder et al., 2020, p. 2). Though the Scientific Working Group on DNA Analysis Methods (SWGDAM) is tasked with making recommendations for the validation and use of emerging forensic DNA analysis methods in the U.S., its official statement on IGG included no validation criteria for SNP testing and analysis (Scudder et al., 2020, p. 2). Because most state crime laboratories do not have the technology to conduct SNP autosomal DNA testing, law enforcement must rely on private contractors to process crime scene DNA for FIGG use (Scudder et al., 2020, p. 2). As noted by Scudder et al. in 2020, reliance on contractors for SNP testing introduces a range of security and validity considerations, such as facility accreditation, facility selection criteria, chain of custody, storage of DNA samples, and data storage (Scudder et al., 2020, p. 2).
Charting a Path Forward
The juxtaposition of the promise of IGG from a criminal justice standpoint and the myriad concerns over law enforcement use of consumer genetic data presents an ethical dilemma. Given that both sides of this dilemma seek the common good, it is necessary from a moral and logical standpoint to seek a balance between these competing interests.
On this topic, Wickenheiser presents two ethical tools for finding the middle ground. One is the Aristotelian concept of determining “the excellent mean between two extremes.” Wickenheiser frames the two extremes in this case as “public safety” and “individual rights”. The other is the principle of proportionality, which holds that “there should be a common sense and reasonable balance between choices and their consequences, such that the balance between the good achieved is maximized with as little harm as possible” (Wickenheiser, 2019, p. 119). In seeking the balance proscribed by both of these doctrines, it would be useful to consider the costs of the use of IGG in relation to the benefits it provides. The privacy and security concerns raised in the previous section speak to the costs of FIGG, while the overall reduction of violent crime on a new scale are the benefits of its usage.
In terms of actual financial costs, it has been estimated that the average cost of a sexual assault incurred by the victim is $111,000 (Wickenheiser, 2019, p. 115) – a sum which does not factor in the public costs related to investigation and prosecution of the crime. In contrast, the cost of conducting a complex FIGG investigation is approximately $12,000 on average (Scudder et al., 2020, p. 3). In assessing the costs versus the benefits of FIGG, noted forensic science researcher Óscar García concludes: "The individuals who commit violent crimes (who often reoffend) inflict great emotional and physical damage on their victims and their families. If a criminal career can be prevented as soon as it starts, future victims and the associated costs for them and society can be avoided. This would guarantee an ethical balance between individuals' rights and privacy independence, as opposed to public rights to personal safety and protection" (García, 2021, p. 115).
Solutions
Many criminal justice researchers champion the regulated use of FIGG in order to minimize the risk posed to the various family members identified in the course of IGG investigations (Katsanis, 2020, p. 558; Kennett, 2019, p. 114; Mateen et al., 2021, p. 5.; Scudder et al., 2020, p. 7; Thompson et al., 2020, p. 6). A number of these researchers have proposed specific approaches to safeguarding individual rights while conducting IGG investigations. The leading proponents of an overall regulated standard-based approach are Nathan Scudder, Dennis McNevin, Sally Kelty, Christine Funk, Simon Walsh, and James Roberston. Together these researchers have produced a series of articles exploring regulatory approaches to FIGG implementation, and it is their opinion that regulation and standardization of the FIGG process would codify “privacy and ethical obligations” and provide a basis for the penalization of misuse of consumer genomic data and information collected in the course of FIGG investigations (Scudder et al., 2019 (A), p. 513). Chief among their recommendations for a general regulatory IGG regime is regulation of law enforcement’s “access to all forms of genetic data, including prescriptive requirements for how law enforcement can use publicly available datasets” (Scudder et al., 2019, p. 208).
Recommendations specific to the individual stages of the FIGG process have been made as well. There is a consensus that clear case selection criteria are needed, and it is generally agreed that FIGG should only be used in cases of violent crime for which there is no existing match in CODIS and for which traditional investigative means have already been pursued (ASCLD, 2019, p. 3; SWGDAM, 2020, p. 6; Tillmar et al., 2021, p. 6; U.S. Dept. of Justice, 2019, p. 5; Wickenheiser, 2019, p. 121). In terms of DNA testing and storage, Scudder et al. 2020 recommend that law enforcement agencies conduct a privacy impact assessment (PIA) to gauge “issues with laboratory workflow, security and storage of genetic data, as well as long-term archiving or disposal” of all genetic information. The PIA “can also consider questions as to whether genetic data is available to investigators or held only by laboratory personnel" (Scudder et al., 2020, p. 5). They also recommend that all genetic information be treated as sensitive information subject to “rigorous protocols around security, access, and use" (Scudder et al., 2020, p. 5).
For the consumer genetic database component of the IGG process, Wickenheiser recommends the creation of a scientifically solid process for IGG genealogical research, with transparent policies, procedures, and documentation (Wickenheiser, 2019, p. 123). Additionally, the restricted and high-security access regimes currently in place for law enforcement databases and searches should be imposed on law enforcement use of consumer databases for FIGG research as well (U.S. Dept. of Justice, 2019, p. 7; Wickenheiser, 2019, p. 120). Scudder et al. 2020 recommends that IGG genetic data should be removed from online databases once the list of matches has been accessed (Scudder et al., 2020, p. 5). Similarly, SWGDAM's overview of FIGG recommends that DNA profiles be kept online for the minimum amount of time needed for the necessary analysis and research to be performed (SWGDAM, 2020, p. 7). Lastly, Scudder et al. 2019 recommend a clear definition of how close a familial relationship must be to be deemed an “actionable lead” as a means of reducing the overall number of individuals included in FIGG investigations (Scudder et al., 2019, p. 208).
In terms of the investigative and judicial phases of the FIGG process, Wickenheiser recommends that law enforcement execute great care and regard for protecting individuals’ privacy when soliciting and collecting reference samples from family members (Wickenheiser, 2019, p. 123). In the same vein, Scudder et al. 2020 suggest expanded duties for and scrutiny by judicial officers in granting search warrants or other instruments on the basis of FIGG conclusions (Scudder et al., 2020, p. 5).
As a safety measure against the general lack of regulation and accreditation among genealogists, Scudder et al. 2020 recommend “proficiency testing for genealogists, the use of standard contractual agreements, and consideration of hiring or training 'in house' genealogists within various [law enforcement] agencies" (Scudder et al., 2020, p. 5). Further, they recommend the creation and routine implementation of contractual requirements and non-disclosure agreements for all contractor services involved in the execution of FIGG investigations (Scudder et al., 2020, p. 5).
Conclusion
When Barbara Rae-Venter agreed to Chief of Forensics for the Contra Costa County D.A.’s Office Paul Holes’s request to use investigative genetic genealogy to identify the Golden State Killer and East Area Rapist in March, 2017, neither could have imagined the criminal investigative revolution the results of their collaboration would launch. Together, they successfully solved over nearly 60 violent crimes and provided the impetus for solving hundreds more in the following three years, with who knows how many thousands to follow in the future.
A powerful and complex technology, investigative genetic genealogy also carries controversy and concern over law enforcement use of consumer DNA information. Properly understood, FIGG is strictly as a lead-generating process and does not in and of itself constitute evidence of guilt. While the solid “needle in a haystack” leads it can generate hold the promise of increased public safety, the process also poses risk to the individual’s rights to privacy. As a means of balancing these competing common interests, criminal justice researchers suggest a regulatory regime that imposes uniform standards on the IGG process and minimizes privacy and security risks.
Appendix: Scudder et al.’s 2020 FIGG Checklist for Law Enforcement
- Policy development
- Privacy Impact Assessment
- Operational security assessment
- Legal advice
- Consideration of oversight/advisory committee
- Scientific and forensic validation
- Sensitivity
- Specificity
- Mixtures
- Sample type and analysis
- Vendor Assessment – DNA analysis
- Chain of custody
- Cost
- Logistics (sample transport and recovery)
- Type of analysis
- Physical and data security
- Vendor Assessment – Genealogy
- Applicability to different biogeographical ancestries
- Data security
- Confidentiality agreement
- Access to appropriate records and databases
- Pilot of trial casework
- Stakeholder education and awareness (e.g. homicide and cold case detectives, missing persons, sexual assault teams)
- Development of briefing notes/press releases
From Scudder, N., Daniel, R., Raymond, J. & Sears, A. (2020). Operationalizing forensic
genetic genealogy in an Australian context. Forensic Science International, 316, Article
110543.
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[1] The National Genome Research Institute (NGHRI) defines an allele as “one of two or more versions of a gene. An individual inherits two alleles for each gene, one from each parent. If the two alleles are the same, the individual is homozygous for that gene. If the alleles are different, the individual is heterozygous” (NHGRI, Talking Glossary of Genetic Terms, “Allele”).
[2] As of April 2020, familial searching is banned in Alaska, Georgia, Indiana, Maryland, and the District of Columbia (Katsanis, 2020, p. 551).
[3] The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) defines the Y chromosome as “one of two sex chromosomes. Humans and other mammals have two sex chromosomes, the X and the Y. Females have two X chromosomes in their cells, while males have X and Y chromosomes in their cells” (NHGRI, Talking Glossary of Genetic Terms, “Y Chromosome”).
[4] The International Society of Genetic Genealogy (ISOGG) defines autosomal DNA as “DNA which is inherited from the autosomal chromosomes. An autosome is any of the numbered chromosomes, as opposed to the sex chromosomes. Humans have 22 pairs of autosomes and one pair of sex chromosomes (the X chromosome and the Y chromosome)” (ISOGG Wiki, “Autosomal DNA”).