Approaching ethical, legal and social issues of emerging forensic DNA phenotyping (FDP) technologies comprehensively: Reply to ‘Forensic DNA phenotyping: Predicting human appearance from crime scene material for investigative purposes’ by Manfred Kayser

Toom, Victor; Wienroth, Matthias; M’charek, Amade; Prainsack, Barbara; Williams, Robin; Duster, Troy; Heinemann, Torsten; Kruse, Corinna; Machado, Helena; Murphy, Erin

doi:10.1016/j.fsigen.2016.01.010

Cited by 52 publications

(54 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…The prime motivation behind this approach is to narrow down the group of potential trace donors in cases where standard genetic fingerprinting, such as short-tandem repeat (STR) profiling, could not provide any matching information with a priori known profiles [1,2]. FDP may thereby help focusing police investigations on a (limited) group of suspects, although the legal and ethical framework for such approaches is currently subject to intensive debate (see, for example, [3][4][5][6][7]).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

True colors: A literature review on the spatial distribution of eye and hair pigmentation

Katsara

Nothnagel

2019

Forensic Science International: Genetics

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DNA-based prediction of externally visible characteristics has become an established approach in forensic genetics, with the aim of tracing individuals who are potentially unknown to the investigating authorities but without using this prediction as evidence in court. While a number of prediction models have been proposed, use of prior probabilities in those models has largely been absent. Here, we aim at compiling information on the spatial distribution of eye and hair coloration in order to use this as prior knowledge to improve prediction accuracy. To this end, we conducted a detailed literature review and created maps showing the eye and hair pigmentation prevalence both by countries with available information and by interpolation in order to obtain prior estimates for populations without available data. Furthermore, we assessed the association between these two traits in a very large data set. A strong limitation was the quite low amount of available data, especially outside Europe. We hope that our results will facilitate the improvement of already existing and of novel prediction methods for pigmentation traits and induce further studies on the spatial distribution of these traits.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

True colors: A literature review on the spatial distribution of eye and hair pigmentation

Katsara

Nothnagel

2019

Forensic Science International: Genetics

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“…Such a concept encapsulates the notion that forensic DNA phenotyping techniques might overcome the limitations of information presented by eyewitness testimonies, which are perceived as fragile, pervaded with emotions, motivations, subjectivities and information gaps. When reacting to that argument, several social scientists have been outlining, on the one hand, the risks of perceiving science and technology as immune to social bias, and, on the other, the socially decontextualized nature of information provided by forensic DNA phenotyping, especially when directly compared with eyewitness accounts that often provide context about the events of a crime (Toom et al, 2016).…”

Section: Forensic Dna Phenotypingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emerging DNA Technologies and Stigmatization

Machado

Granja

2020

Forensic Genetics in the Governance of Crime

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Despite their consolidated role in providing evidence for criminal justice, DNA technologies have been subjected to continuous investment that has given rise to the emergence of new DNA technologies. This chapter will focus on such innovations, explaining how forensic genetics is increasingly expanding its role in the criminal justice system. Recent technologies such as familial searching and forensic DNA phenotyping might help to generate intelligence for criminal investigations. Familial searching is a technology that attempts to identify criminal suspects through their genetic connection with relatives. Forensic DNA phenotyping makes it possible to focus on a particular suspect group that shares genetic ancestry and/or externally visible characteristics. The chapter critically reviews the existing debate in the field of social sciences about emerging DNA technologies. The core argument is that the application of DNA phenotyping and familial searching in the governance of crime holds the potential to increase risks of stigmatization and reinforce the criminalization of certain populations who are more vulnerable to the actions of the criminal justice system.

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“…Proponents of this view have argued that this demarcation would bypass most, though not all, privacy issues. Even if we accepted that FDP should be considered equivalent to an eyewitness statement, however, this would not make FDP ethically unproblematic, because eyewitness evidence is never an isolated statement about an objective fact but has its own associated ethical issues (Toom et al 2016). Human perception is inevitably shaped by people's previous experiences, moral, social and political reference points, and other conscious or unconscious biases.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We note three concerns here that are most prominently discussed in the literature. First, given that FDP tests are probabilistic, concerns have been raised about the nature of information FDP can provide, and the possibility of the predictive nature of the information being misunderstood (Cino 2017;Enserink 2011;Sankar 2012;Seo et al 2017;Toom et al 2016). These concerns are compounded by expectation-generating for-profit companies such as Parabon Nanolabs, which markets FDP as a technology capable of creating composite faces of individuals from a sample of DNA alone; often based on tests which are under developed, scientifically not documented, and un-validated (Gannon 2017;Wienroth 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Forensic DNA phenotyping in Europe: views “on the ground” from those who have a professional stake in the technology

Samuel

Prainsack

2018

New Genetics and Society

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Forensic DNA phenotyping (FDP) is an emerging technology that seeks to make probabilistic inferences regarding a person's observable characteristics ("phenotype") from DNA. The aim is to aid criminal investigations by helping to identify unknown suspected perpetrators, or to help with noncriminal missing persons cases. Here we provide results from the analysis of 36 interviews with those who have a professional stake in FDP, including forensic scientists, police officers, lawyers, government agencies and social scientists. Located in eight EU countries, these individuals were asked for their views on the benefits and problems associated with the prospective use of FDP. While all interviewees distinguished between those phenotypic tests perceived to either raise ethical, social or political concerns from those tests viewed as less ethically and socially problematic, there was wide variation regarding the criteria they used to make this distinction. We discuss the implications of this in terms of responsible technology development.

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Approaching ethical, legal and social issues of emerging forensic DNA phenotyping (FDP) technologies comprehensively: Reply to ‘Forensic DNA phenotyping: Predicting human appearance from crime scene material for investigative purposes’ by Manfred Kayser

Cited by 52 publications

References 13 publications

True colors: A literature review on the spatial distribution of eye and hair pigmentation

True colors: A literature review on the spatial distribution of eye and hair pigmentation

Emerging DNA Technologies and Stigmatization

Forensic DNA phenotyping in Europe: views “on the ground” from those who have a professional stake in the technology

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