You Have The Right To Remain Silent. DNA Doesn't.
And yes, it can and will be used against you.
Take a seat, because this one could be difficult to hear. There are upward of 26 million full-fledged DNA sequences on record in the United States alone, and by virtue of that number alone, there is a 90% chance that there is at least one fully sequenced genome floating around that can be traced back to you.
Whether it was that 23andMe test you took to learn what percent Irish you are, or a medically issued preventative screening, or those of a family member, distant or otherwise, your data is on the books.
Typically, such data would be guaranteed confidential by a concrete and long-withstanding federal privacy policy, known as HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act), without debate. However, that seemingly definitive line isn't so clean-cut when it comes to your genetic data.
You wouldn't be the first if you are shocked to learn that there is one database by the name of GEDMatch into which virtually every piece of genetic data ever collected finds its way.
In case you weren't already feeling wonderfully secure, you might find comfort in knowing that this data isn't just on display to the public. What can and does happen, however, is that individuals can upload recent results of their genetic testing and find familial matches, hence the name GEDMatch. As wholesome as that may sound, reality interjects, and we realize that just as a long-lost family member can track you to a picture-perfect reunion, so can law enforcement.
Currently, there stand virtually no laws, federal or otherwise, governing the severity of the crime that would warrant police or FBI use of genetic data. Because of this severe lack of policy, when your DNA becomes available in any manner, you have inadvertently consented to police investigation of your DNA in any capacity. However, as a potential carrier of the breast cancer-inducing BRCA 1+2 genes, I cannot reasonably condemn the use of necessary forms of genetic testing. And I shouldn't have to- with such tremendously useful advancements in genetic technology in preventative medicine, fear of criminal indictment or another harmful breach in privacy should not discourage anyone from exercising caution about their health in this manner. Unfortunately, for one criminal, this fear became reality.
In November 2018, someone broke into a church in Centerville, Utah and attacked an organist who was practicing there. Upon arrival at the scene, police collected a sample of the perpetrator's blood that had been found on a window they had shattered prior to carrying out the attack. When the sample was analyzed through GEDMatch, law enforcement was able to identify an individual with a distant relative who resided in Centerville, a 17-year-old male high school student. All it took to confirm their findings and indict the suspect was for the school resource officer to recover the student's discarded juice box and test the residue on the straw for a DNA match.
For this student, the establishment of strong evidence against him through genetic testing appeared to be not only a breach of his privacy, but that of the distant relative whose data was employed to locate him. As an otherwise non-violent and relatively low-risk suspect, such concrete evidence undoubtedly worsened his consequences and reduced his chances of smoothly rebounding into high school life to have an opportunity to be steered onto a successful path.
Despite the alarm raised by the unregulated use of genetic data in criminal investigation, there have been and will continue to be criminal investigations in which DNA matching cracks a long-standing cold case, particularly those involving violent criminals. Most recently, as of April 24th, 2019, police identified the perpetrator in a 42-year chase dubbed "The Golden State Killer" case, a series of serial murders and rapes targeted at young women throughout Southern California. Without doubt, this is the kind of person that the general public would like to see locked up at the expense of any degree of criminal investigation, clearly warranting genetic examination.
So, while genetic data may be justifiably applied in such high-stakes cases, there still remain unanswered questions about the role of genetics in lower-caliber criminal investigation. As of now, it's clear that genetic technology is not going anywhere. and with continuously accumulating data spanning a greater portion of the population than ever, there is no better time for standards and legislation to come into consideration regarding the degree to which genetic information can be applied in criminal investigation. Without such policies, law enforcement will only be increasingly encouraged to take advantage of the resources available to them.
In all reality, your genetic information is somewhere out there, whether you like it or not. And maybe the police can have it. But not without a public debate.
