Genetic Suspects

Analyses the highly controversial problems of DNA forensic technologies, providing important insights into their ethical, legal and societal dimensions.

Genetic Suspects is at the forefront of international critical reflection about the benefits, risks and governance of forensic DNA profiling and databasing, providing essential discussion and insights of their ethical, legal and societal dimensions for academics, practitioners, and students of the life sciences, law, politics, and sociology.As DNA forensic profiling and databasing become established as key technologies in the toolbox of the forensic sciences, their expanding use raises important issues that promise to touch everyone's lives. In an authoritative global investigation of a diverse range of countries, including those at the forefront of these technologies' development and use, this book identifies and provides critical reflection upon the many issues of privacy; distributive justice; DNA information system ownership; biosurveillance; function creep; the reliability of collection, storage and analysis of DNA profiles; the possibility of transferring medical DNA information to forensics databases; and democratic involvement and transparency in governance, an emergent key theme. This book is timely and significant in providing the essential background and discussion of the ethical, legal and societal dimensions for academics, practitioners, public interest and criminal justice organisations, and students of the life sciences, law, politics, and sociology.