Low copy number DNA evidence will continue to be admissible in court, after a Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) review found nothing to suggest its use should be discontinued.
Last December, the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) recommended a suspension of low copy number DNA analysis in criminal cases after a judge in the trial of the alleged Omagh bomber expressed concern at the scientific validity and possibility of cross-contamination of the technique.
The CPS reviewed current cases involving the use of evidence gathered from very small samples of DNA and has recommended that low copy DNA analysis provided by the Forensic Science Service should “remain available as potentially admissible evidence”.
Gary Pugh, ACPO spokesman and director of forensic services for the Metropolitan
Police, welcomed the CPS decision, adding that “in accordance with existing guidance governing the potential use of DNA evidence, the strength and weight attached to this information should be considered, presented and tested in light of all other evidence available”. (See this issue, p 157.)
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