DNAprint Genomics (DNAG)

[mingwan0]

Another article on the London rapist:

http://www.voice-online.net/content.php?show=4000&type=1

DID NOT AGREE
BY Dominic Bascombe

Police use controversial genetics techniques in search for rapist

A Voice investigation has revealed that the Metropolitan Police are covertly attempting to obtain DNA samples of black men in the south London area.

The Met has been trying to track down a serial rapist who has attacked 84 frail and elderly women over the past 12 years.

They claim that DNA evidence shows the man is of Caribbean origin.

The Met has been seeking voluntary DNA samples from 200 police officers in the Caribbean in order to trace which island the attacker’s family are from.

However, in the course of the investigation – dubbed Operation Minstead – it has also targeted African-Caribbean men aged between 25 and 40, particularly those with a south London accent.

Andy Holder, 39, told how he was wrongly caught up in the investigation and even threatened with a court order. The electrician received a letter from the Met asking for his assistance in the case.

SUSPECTS
“There was a hand-delivered letter waiting for me at home,” he said.

“When I called, a woman police officer asked me if I was black and I said yes. She said they were looking for this rapist and for some reason the computer has put me in the top 1,400 [of suspects].

“That evening they phoned and asked if I wanted to meet to give a sample, but I told them no. The police said: ‘You sound like you’re having seconds [thoughts] but I said: ‘I never had firsts!’

“I don’t feel comfortable about giving my DNA or for them to have a bank of DNA from black males,” he said. “They kept telling me if I was not guilty I had nothing to fear.”

Police tactics escalated the next day when Mr Holder was threatened with a court order to obtain his DNA.

He explained: “Five minutes before leaving for work I got a phone call asking me if I had thought about giving the sample. Again I said no and the policeman said if I didn’t, they could get a court order for me. He said if they had to get the order, they would put my sample on the national database, but if I volunteered they would destroy the sample.

“This is harassment,” Holder fumed. “I have nothing at all to do with this man [the rapist]. This is bully-boy tactics by the police.”

“I feel if I had to give a sample it would be a form of violation – almost like a form of rape.

“Are we going to see a future where a team of people would take a swab from a baby as they are born?” he asked.

A spokesperson for human rights group Liberty said: “It is very disturbing that a man who is under no suspicion of committing this crime should be asked for his DNA.

“We will be looking at the details of this very carefully and consider whether he can bring a legal case.”

The police investigation has stirred a furious debate in the media. Many question whether a DNA sample can be used to trace ethnic background.

But the Home Office says that under the Criminal Justice Act 2003, police can retain DNA samples if a suspect has been charged on a recordable offence – one punishable with imprisonment – and held at a police station.

DATABASE
At present police hold over two million DNA samples on a database and access is strictly controlled. This is separate from the police criminal database.

A Met spokesperson said: “Ancestral testing has concluded [that the rapist’s] origins are from the Caribbean. We are trying to rule out a group of islands at least.

“The police can use their powers to take DNA samples if the person is arrested, or in particular if they fit the description, or if the officer has any concerns.”

The US genetics company assisting the Met, however, has refuted claims that it can identify the island that the attacker may hail from.

A spokesperson for DNA Print Genomics in Florida said it is impossible to be that precise. He said current technology can only show whether someone is from one of four population groups – East Asian, European, native American and African.

The Met claim their samples reveal a mixture of European, American and African strands, a type exclusive to the Caribbean.

The rapist has been categorised as a ‘gerontophile’, someone who seeks sexual gratification from older women.

Have you been asked to give DNA samples to the police?

Contact The Voice on 0207 737 9521 or email [e-mail].