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DNA Profiling And Ethical Issues

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Fluids and tissues containing DNA are often left at crime scenes, particularly in instances of violent crimes. The ability to analyse these samples has led to cold hits: “instances where law enforcement use the matching of DNA from a known felon stored in a forensic database to DNA from a crime scene to locate a suspect in a case with no previous suspects (Segen’s Medical Dictionary, 2011).” The process provides law enforcement with a cost efficient method of solving crimes with no prior leads. Nevertheless, DNA can be easily contaminated and raises ethical issues. For these reasons, the use of DNA profiling in legal proceedings remains controversial.

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