Controversial DNA technique given thumbs-up

Low Copy Number (LCN) DNA testing is “scientifically robust” according to an independent review, despite the misgivings of scientists and lawyers.
Brian Caddy, professor in forensic science at Strathclyde University, who led the government-commissioned review, said the technique, which draws DNA profiles from microscopic amounts of material, was “fit for purpose” in court.

However he makes 21 recommendations, including setting national standards for forensic training crime scene recovery equipment. He says profiles obtained using the technique should be presented to juries with caveats, and that an advisory panel should guide courts on how to interpret LCN evidence.

The government commissioned the review into the technique after the collapse of the Omagh bombing trial (R v Sean Hoey) in December.
Forensic experts using the technique had wrongly identified a 14-year-old boy from Nottingham (aged six at the time) as having planted the bomb.
The judge in the trial, Mr Justice Weir, expressed doubts about LCN’s “reliability as an evidential tool”.

The Crown Prosecution Service  suspended the use of LCN but has since reinstated it as potentially admissible evidence.
However, Professor Jamieson of the Forensic Institute, an expert witness in the Omagh bombing trial, claims the technique can lead to mistakes. “The samples are too small to be reliable, and there is no way of knowing how the DNA got there.”