Indian Forensic Labs Set to Double DNA Testing Volume

According to the recent estimates, the number of the DNA profiles have been developed from the crime scene evidence has doubled from a year from 10000 cases tested in 2017 to nearly 20000 this year. This increase in the DNA casework can be attributed to an upward trend in reporting of sexual violence cases which is owing to the public awareness and activism along with some of the steps to be taken by the government to upgrade the forensic and police infrastructure keeping the women in mind.

While the evidence from the recent study shows that the confidence-building measures like the opening of all the women police stations has also increased the reporting crimes against the women by 22%, upgrading of forensic infrastructure at both the state and central levels has also enabled the more collection and testing of the DNA samples by the investigators.

Reinforcing the trend Vivek Sahajpal, Assistant Director, Himachal Pradesh State FSL said, “There has been a substantial increase in requests for DNA profiling, and nearly 50% of the total crime cases we receive are linked to rape and sexual assault. To keep pace with the increased demand, we are now implementing new DNA technology upgrades that will help us bring down the number of unsolved crimes in the state.”

Tim Schellberg, Founder & President, Gordon Thomas Honeywell—GA notes, “It is good to see India conducting more DNA tests to expedite justice but considering the scale of crime in the country, especially sexual violence against women & children, this only skims the surface.  If a country is going to fight rape it needs to fully embrace forensic DNA, the gold standard of evidence. It identifies suspects and helps build a rightful collection.”

Forensic DNA has also emerged as the most reliable crime-fighting technology across the globe. Many countries nowadays are effectively using the forensic labs and protocols to test, collect and compare the DNA at crime scenes with that of suspects with the promising results.