The 39-year-old resident of Bossche, suspected of the robbery of Mark Gillis, has been found on the basis of his DNA profile. The DNA of the suspect was found during the trace investigation and resulted in a match in the database of the Netherlands Forensic Institute (NFI). But your DNA is not just stored in such a database. What must you have done for that?
Mark Gillis was brutally robbed in the night of 6 to 7 November last year when he arrived at his chalet at the Prinsenmeer holiday park. The detectives then carried out investigations. One of those tracks eventually led to a suspect, a 39-year-old man from Den Bosch. There are also more suspects in the picture, after the discovery of new traces.
The trace that was found led to a match with the DNA profile of the suspect. This means that his DNA was already registered in the database. How does that work?
First of all, there are different types of databases that store DNA profiles. There are private databases to which you can send your DNA yourself. This is intended, for example, to find lost relatives. In America these databases can also be used to solve criminal cases, but in the Netherlands this is not the case. DNA that is intended for criminal cases ends up in the Dutch DNA database. It is administered by the Netherlands Forensic Institute (NFI).
When will your DNA be taken?
The Public Prosecution Service can order the DNA database to take DNA from someone. If you receive a call for this, you are obliged to participate. It is not possible to object to DNA collection.
There are several situations in which your DNA must be collected. In the Dutch DNA database for criminal cases, according to the NFI profiles included from:
- Suspects
- Convicts
- Ex-prisoners (on a voluntary basis)
- Dead victims
- Missing people (if a crime is suspected)
- Unidentified people (if a crime is suspected)
- Found at a crime scene or crime related traces
Can your DNA disappear from the database again?
Which can. For example, if a suspect is acquitted. Unless the DNA of that suspect provides a match in another criminal case in the meantime. If a suspect is convicted, the DNA is kept in the database. There is always a so-called retention period for all DNA profiles.
How long DNA is preserved again depends on the punishment someone has received. For example, the DNA of someone who has been convicted of a crime that spent less than six years on the street is kept for twenty years (or twelve years after that person dies).
It is also possible to object to the inclusion of your DNA profile in the database. This must be done within two weeks after the DNA sample. A judge will then decide whether your DNA will be kept or destroyed.
What happens with a new DNA profile?
When new DNA is added to the database, it is checked whether there is a match with an existing DNA profile. For example, a person can match a trail found at a crime scene. In the case of the 38-year-old Bosschenaar, it was the other way around: a trace of the crime scene matched his DNA profile. This means that his DNA was already stored in the database.
In the case of serious crimes, suspects can also be traced on the basis of DNA material from family members. This is called a kinship test, but it can only be done for crimes that carry a prison sentence of eight years or more.
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