RT Article
T1 DNA databases as alternative data sources for criminological research
JF European journal on criminal policy and research
VO 23
IS 2
SP 175
OP 192
A1 De Moor, Sabine
A1 Vander Beken, Tom 1968-
A1 Van Daele, Stijn
LA English
YR 2017
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1566429374
AB DNA traces found at crime scenes and DNA records held in databases have already helped the police to solve numerous investigations into specific crimes. The police clearly benefit from the use of forensic science at an operational (i.e. case) level. This paper focuses on the use of forensic DNA at a strategic level: its use in the study of patterns of criminal behaviour. The usual sources of information for this type of research are recorded crime data, self-report studies and victimization surveys. However, as our review will show, these data sources cannot provide a complete picture of crime. We therefore propose an alternative approach to criminological research that takes into account DNA databases and has the potential to augment current methods and extend the existing knowledge beyond known offenders. The use of DNA databases has an important advantage for criminological research: it is possible to link offences committed by the same individual, whether the offender’s identity is known or not. By making a one-on-one comparison of police data with the corresponding DNA data, not only can co-offenders be studied, but a larger network of offenders connected to each other can also be analysed, even if their identity is unknown to the police.
K1 Co-offending
K1 Methodology
K1 Network analysis
K1 Serial offending
K1 Strategic research
DO 10.1007/s10610-016-9327-9