The Australian Federal Police (AFP) are harnessing new DNA technology to predict the physical features of criminals who they say are yet to be caught.
Scientist at AFP Forensics, Paul Roffey said the new Massively Parallel Sequencing (MPS) technology could provide predictions for visual traits of criminals from the DNA they left at a crime scene, allowing investigators to predict their gender, biogeographical ancestry, eye colour and, in the coming months, hair colour.
“Biographical ancestry prediction compares DNA to a reference library of three ancient human population groups, which may help exclude persons of interest,” Dr Roffey said.
“The AFP has been carefully testing and assessing MPS to ensure its accuracy, prior to any use in forensic investigations,” he said.
“This validation for use in forensic analysis is an Australian first for law enforcement.”
Dr Roffey, who is also Lead Scientist of the MPS program, said the possibilities for MPS technology would only increase.
He said MPS was more informative than traditional DNA profiling as it examined the nucleotide base sequence of the DNA instead of just the length variations on the human genome.
“The true power of MPS technology comes from its ability to obtain leads from DNA when the perpetrator is unknown and there is no matching profile on a law enforcement DNA database,” he said.
“The platform also has application in missing persons and unidentified human remains cases.”
Dr Roffey said that, over the next decade, the MPS team would look to widen prediction capabilities to include traits such as age, body mass index and height.
“We will also be seeking opportunities to provide fine detail predictions for facial metrics such as distance between the eyes, eye, nose and ear shape, lip fullness, and cheek structure.”
He said the AFP was also collaborating with Geoscience Australia to develop MPS capabilities to analyse environmental DNA as a forensic tool for soil, dust and water profiling and drug investigations.
