The topic of this week covers the importance of forensics to laws and legislation. You will have to conduct research in order to describe current trends in the professional field of forensics. Then you will conduct analysis forensic assessment strategies when solving the criminal justice problem.
I will expect that you conduct outside research but remember that you should not use new/media to support your claims. You should be using scholarly, peer-reviewed, and authoritative reporting through journals.
REPLY TO MY CLASSMATE’S POST TELLING WHY YOU AGREE BY PRESENTING QUESTIONS, ALTERNATIVE ANALYSIS, CHALLENGES TO THEIR ASSUMPTIONS AND CLAIMS (WITH RESEARCH), ON HOW HE ARRIVED AT HIS CONCLUSIONS (MINIMUM OF 200 WORDS) MAKE SURE YOU ASK QUESTIONS IN THE DISCUSSION
CLASSMATE’S POST
The application of DNA testing in the field of forensic science results have proven over decades that the expansion and implementation of legislation and laws surrounding this method have continued to give and support the clarity and proof necessary to bring offenders forward to face the justice system for his/her criminal behavior. For example, recently, in France a decades long caselog of unsolved horrendous and awful murders and rapes of mainly helpless underage girls show identification of the culprit based on DNA evidence. “Prosecutors announced late Thursday that DNA from identified in French media as Francois V., a 59-year-old retired officer corresponded to genetic traces found at the scene of multiple crimes in the 1980s and 1990s” (Vaux-Montagny, 2021).
Currently, under the DNA forensic scope, the method of forensic genomics has been placed under a microsope regarding law enforement’s use of this technique in the criminal justice arena.
Exploiting genetic datasets through forensic genomics, including the use of forensic
genetic genealogy, opens up a new line of inquiry in many cold-case investigations. Educating law enforcement, the public and the judiciary around this technology and its potential application is also very important in ensuring contemporary debate around the privacy and family implications. (Robertson, Scudder, Walsh, McNevin, Kelty, & Funk, p. 211, 2019).
There are several genealogy websites but only a few perform genetic testing. “GEDmatch’s terms of service tries to limit law enforcement use to “violent crimes” defined as homicide or sexual assault, though the site as no way of verifying that” (Zhang, 2018). Ancestry.com is one of the genealogy websites that perform genetic testing. The following is its privacy policy regarding law enforcement’s use of its records and information for criminal investigations. See the following information posted on its website regarding this area:
Ancestry Guide for Law Enforcement
This guide is intended for law enforcement authorities in the United States and around the world seeking information relating to the accounts or users of our Ancestry family of companies. Additional information is available in the applicable Terms and Conditions and Privacy Statements available on our websites.
Services We Offer
Ancestry.com and international sites, such as Ancestry.co.uk, Ancestry.com.au, and Ancestry.ca, allow members to create family trees, view historical records, and find and communicate with relatives online.
Archives.com is a service that provides access to billions of digitized public records and images for genealogical research.
AncestryDNA® is a DNA testing service that connects autosomal test results with our DNA database to estimate a user’s ethnicity and identify relationships with unknown relatives.
We offer additional products and services, such as Fold3, Newspapers.com and AncestryAcademy. For more information, click here.
Information Available from Ancestry
We collect user information in accordance with the applicable Terms and Conditions and Privacy Statements.
Requests for Ancestry User Information
Ancestry does not voluntarily cooperate with law enforcement. To provide our Users with the greatest protection under the law, we require all government agencies seeking access to Ancestry customers’ data to follow valid legal process and do not allow law enforcement to use Ancestry’s services to investigate crimes or to identify human remains.
Law Enforcement Requests Outside the United States:
Depending on the jurisdiction of the requesting law enforcement agency, a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty request or letter rogatory may be required to compel the disclosure of records. This is because our users’ account data can only be accessed by Ancestry.com Operations Inc. (located in the United States) and Ancestry Ireland Unlimited Company (located in Ireland). International law enforcement authorities may also submit requests for emergency disclosure. We will provide responsive records in accordance with applicable law and our policies.
Law Enforcement Requests in the United States:
Ancestry will release basic subscriber information as defined in 18 USC § 2703(c)(2) about Ancestry users to law enforcement only in response to a valid trial, grand jury or administrative subpoena.
Ancestry will release additional account information or transactional information pertaining to an account (such as search terms, but not including the contents of communications) only in response to a court order issued pursuant to 18 USC § 2703(d).
Contents of communications and any data relating to the DNA of an Ancestry user will be released only pursuant to a valid search warrant from a government agency with proper jurisdiction.
If we receive a valid request under U.S. law to preserve records that constitute potentially relevant evidence in legal proceedings, we will preserve, but not disclose, a temporary snapshot of the relevant account records for 90 days pending service of valid legal process as described above.
How We Respond to Legal Requests
Respect for the privacy and security of our users’ account data drives our approach to complying with legal requests for information. When we receive a request our team reviews it to make sure it satisfies legal requirements and our policies. If we believe a request is overly broad, we will try to narrow it to the extent legally permitted.
How to Request Ancestry User Information
Ancestry responds to valid legal process issued in compliance with applicable law.
When requesting user account information, please include:
- If available/known, the full name of the subject Ancestry account holder, the account holder’s username and the email and/or mailing address associated with the account(s);
- Details about what specific information is requested (e.g., basic subscriber information) and its relationship to the investigation. We are unable to process overly broad or vague requests; and
- A valid official email address (e.g., name@agency.gov) so we may get back in touch with you upon receipt of your legal process.
Requests should be made in writing and should be submitted by certified mail, express courier, or in person at the addresses listed below; and an additional copy may be sent by email. We do not accept legal process by email or fax unless the request is an emergency request. Our contact information is available at the bottom of this Guide. Written requests must be made on law enforcement letterhead and be signed by the responsible law enforcement officer.
We Will Notify Users of Requests Unless Prohibited From Doing So
Our policy for all requests is to notify users of the request and provide a copy of the request prior to disclosure, unless we are legally restricted from doing so. In the United States, law enforcement officials may prevent this disclosure by submitting a court order pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 2705(b) or equivalent state statute that is signed by a judge. We will evaluate requests not to notify users from law enforcement outside the U.S. under applicable law. For all requests, we may also decide, in our sole discretion, not to notify the user if doing so would be counterproductive and we are legally permitted to do so.
Emergency Requests
If there is an exigent emergency that involves the danger of death or serious physical injury to a person that Ancestry may have information necessary to prevent, law enforcement officers can submit an emergency disclosure request by mail or by email to Lawenforcement-Request@ancestry.com with subject “Emergency Disclosure Request” from a valid official email address. We may notify the user of such request after the fact in accordance with our policy as described above.
Please include all of the following information in an emergency disclosure request:
- Clear indication on your cover sheet, which must be on law enforcement letterhead, that you are submitting an Emergency Disclosure Request;
- Identity of the person who is in danger of death or serious physical injury;
- The nature of the emergency (e.g., report of suicide, bomb threat);
- If available/known, the full name of the account holder, the account holder’s username and the email and/or mailing address associated with the the account(s) whose information is necessary to prevent the emergency;
- The specific information requested and why that information is necessary to prevent the emergency;
- All other available details or context regarding the particular circumstances;
- The signature of the submitting law enforcement officer; and
- A valid official email address (e.g., name@agency.gov) and phone number so we may get back in touch with you.
Submission of Requests
Please note that we may not respond to email correspondence sent to the below email address from non-law enforcement officials.
Requests for user information from U.S. law enforcement should be directed to:
Ancestry.com Operations Inc.
Attn: Legal Department, Law Enforcement Request
1300 W Traverse Parkway
Lehi, UT 84043
United States
Email Address: Lawenforcement-Request@ancestry.com
Requests for user information from law enforcement outside the U.S. should be directed to:
Ancestry Ireland Unlimited Company
Attn: Legal Department, Law Enforcement Request
52-55 Sir John Rogerson’s Quay
Dublin 2, Republic of Ireland
Email Address: Lawenforcement-Request@ancestry.com
Receipt of correspondence by any of these means is for convenience only and does not waive any objections, including the lack of jurisdiction or proper service. (Ancestry.com, 2021)
References
Ancestry.com (2021). Ancestry Guide for Law Enforcement. https://www.ancestry.
com/cs/legal/lawenforcement
Robertson, J., Scudder, N., Walsh, S. J., McNevin, D., Kelty, S. F., & Funk, C. (2019). Policy
and regulatory implications of the new frontier of forensic genomics: direct-to-consumer
genetic data and genealogy records. Current Issues in Criminal Justice, 31(2), 194–216.
https://doi-org.libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/10.1080/10345329.2018.1560588
Vaux-Montagny, N. (October 1, 2021). French cold case: Ex-police Officer Linked to Rapes,
Murders. https://apnews.com/article/europe-france-crime-paris
-e454aa3565c8479d995e6b9ef27e5
Zhang, S. (June 1, 2018). How a Tiny Website Became the Police’s Go-To Genealogy Database
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/06/gedmatch-police-genealogy-
database/561695/
