DNA to provide face-fit picture of criminals
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Your support makes all the difference.Within three years, the police will be able to obtain details of a criminal's face, such as the shape of his nose and eye colour, from DNA samples, a conference was told yesterday. It was also revealed that DNA genetic "fingerprints" techniques were being used by a growing number of police forces against car thieves.
Advances in DNA testing, usually obtained from saliva, blood, semen and hair roots, will revolutionise crime-fighting, the Association Of Chief Police Officers Conference (Acpo) in Cardiff was told.
Among the developments is the growing amount of information forensic scientist can retrieve from DNA samples left at scenes of crimes such as rape and burglary.
Dr Janet Thompson, chief executive of the Forensic Science Service (FSS) said: "Our scientists believe that in the next few years it may well be possible to provide a `picture' of the suspect - everything from colour of hair, eyes and skin; shape of nose, mouth and eyes and so on."
Acpo and the FSS said that they intended to expand the use of DNA eventually to cover all crimes and hoped to have 5 million samples on the national data base by the turn of the century. Samples are now taken from all offences involving sexual crimes, burglaries and violence. There are 151,000 offender profiles on the data base and 14,500 crime themes.
Forces are also using DNA to target car criminals - there have been 130 matches between auto offences and criminals.
Thefts of televisions, videos and hi-fis could be wiped out in a few years' time. By the end of this year, shops should be selling the first electrical equipment equipped with PIN numbers, like those for cash machine cards. The 4-digit PIN would have to be entered via the remote control to use the television. The TV sets will cost from pounds 200.
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