New federal rules limit police searches in DNA databases of family trees | Science

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) yesterday released new rules governing cases in which police can use genetic genealogy to trace suspects of serious crimes – the very first policy on how these databases, popular with amateur genealogists, should be used in attempts to maintain order. reconcile public safety and privacy concerns.

The value of these law enforcement websites was highlighted last year when Joseph DeAngelo was accused of a series of rapes and murders that occurred several decades ago. The investigators found the suspect, dubbed the state killer, by uploading a DNA profile of a crime scene to a public ancestry website, identifying distant relatives and then using traditional genealogy and other information to refine their research. This approach has led to arrests in at least 60 unresolved cases in the country.

But this research also raises issues of confidentiality. Relatives of the database can be suspected even if they have never downloaded their own DNA. (A study found that 60% of Caucasian Americans can now be found with such research.) Even those who shared their DNA may not have given their informed consent to allow the use of their data for law enforcement investigations.

The Department of Justice's interim policy, which will come into effect on November 1, aims to "balance the department's unwavering commitment to resolving violent crime and protecting public safety against equally important public interests." Such as privacy and civil liberties, says a press release. The policy states that the "legal genealogical genealogy" should generally be used only for violent crimes such as murder and rape, as well as to identify human remains. (The policy allows for wider use if the ancestry database policy allows for such research.) The police should first exhaust traditional methods of resolving crimes, including conducting research in their own right. criminal DNA databases.

Under the new policy, the police can not discreetly upload a fake profile to a genealogy website, as some have done in the hope of finding distant relatives of a suspect, without identifying themselves with on board. And the site itself must have informed its users that law enforcement agencies can view their data.

The policy also prohibits the police from using a suspect's DNA profile to search for genes related to disease risks or psychological traits. Another provision attempts to limit situations in which the police secretly take a DNA sample from a family member of the suspect – from a discarded cut or handkerchief, for example – to assist a suspect in to return to his place. The policy states that the person must give informed consent unless the police have obtained a search warrant.

A chance to build trust

Legal and ethical experts accept the new rules, although some do not think they go far enough. "This policy is a major step forward in addressing the most pressing privacy issues in this area," said Natalie Ram, a law professor at the University of Maryland Law School in Baltimore. At the same time, Ram thinks the police should need a search warrant or other control exercised by a judge to conduct a genetic genealogy search.

The new policy applies only to DOJ agencies and national or local agencies receiving federal funding to use genetic genealogy research. Bioethicist Amy McGuire of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, predicts that this will become a national model. "I think people are trying to do it right," says McGuire.

She also hopes that the public will be more accepted if her genetic data is used in police raids. "[Putting] Limitations on the use of technology are a very important step in building public confidence, "said McGuire.

The increasing use of genetic research – McGuire says he has heard of 300 active cases using this approach – encountered a barrier in May when GEDmatch, a free database used in most cases so far, revised its policy to allow such searches only. customers who have agreed to be included. This membership policy has been reduced by 90%, from 1.4 million to 140,000, the number of profiles that the police can look for, according to a recent press report, making it much less useful.