Maximising the Opportunities to Detect Domestic Burglary with DNA and Fingerprints

Abstract

The impact on the detection and reduction of domestic burglary by a prioritisation of forensic resources and processing over a six-month study period is examined. Targets were set and monitored for the twin factors of increased attendance at crime scenes and increased timeliness of processing both DNA and fingerprint samples. The results showed that it is possible to increase the number of primary detections derived from DNA and fingerprints with the DNA increase being statistically significant. This increase was accompanied by a decrease in reported domestic burglaries. After its completion, the longer term effect of the study on domestic burglary revealed a return to pre-study levels for both DNA and fingerprint detections although continuing reductions in DNA process times enable an increasing number of crimes to be detected with DNA. The results illustrate how a police force may run a focused forensic initiative to provide a short-term prioritisation on a ‘problem’ crime type such as burglary or auto crime where DNA and fingerprints can make a significant contribution to crime detection.