More than one million added to the DNA database as children
/ The Daily Telegraph, 17 November 2008
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/lawandorder/3473483/More-than-one-million-added-to-the-DNA-database-as-children.html
"Campaigners said the revelations showed how children are being criminalised and treated as "suspects for life". Official figures show that, since the DNA database was created, 1.07million profiles of children have been added. This is nearly a quarter of the 4.4million profiles on the database. Anyone who comes into contact with the police, as an offender or a witness."

DNA could reveal your surname / EurekAlert, 7 October 2008
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-10/uol-dcr100608.php
"Scientists at the world-leading Department of Genetics at the University of Leicester – where the revolutionary technique of genetic fingerprinting was invented by Professor Sir Alec Jeffreys- are developing techniques which may one day allow police to work out someone's surname from the DNA alone."

NC State takes lead in crime scene investigation training / EurekAlert, 9 October 2008
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-10/ncsu-nst100908.php
"North Carolina State University researchers are launching a new project that will standardize forensic crime scene investigation training throughout the state, decrease the cost of providing the training to law enforcement personnel and forensic scientists, and hopefully contribute to the establishment of nationwide standards for death investigations."

New nanotechnology tagging system could help solve gun crime / Public Technology, 7 Aug 2008
http://www.publictechnology.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=16935
"Successful convictions in the fight against rising gun crime could be given a boost thanks to new DNA tagging technology developed by scientists at the University of Surrey. The breakthrough uses nanotechnology to coat gun cartridges which captures the user’s DNA. These ‘nanotags’ are also easily transferred to the user’s hands and clothing and are difficult to wash off, making it harder for gun criminals to cover their tracks."

Guilt on their hands: tiny 'tags' could help to solve and deter gun crime / EurekAlert, 1 August 2008
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-08/eaps-got080108.php
"Criminals who use firearms may find it much harder to evade justice in future, thanks to an ingenious new bullet tagging technology developed in the UK."

UK crime fighters grapple with iPhone wipe threat / silicon.com, 2 September 2008
http://networks.silicon.com/mobile/0,39024665,39282266,00.htm
"Criminals can remotely destroy incriminating evidence by exploiting security features on the Apple iPhone, a leading digital forensics expert has warned."

Police identify criminals from texts / The Independent, 8 September 2008
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/police-identify-criminals-from-texts-922585.html
*Criminals who use text messages are being caught out by new techniques that can identify a person from the clues they leave in a message. Language scientists believe that it is possible to identify the author of a message by analysing the spelling, grammar and syntax of the words used. Police have already used the method in high-profile murder cases but it has to be tested further before courts can accept it as routine evidence. Tim Grant, the deputy director of the Centre for Forensic Linguistics at Aston University, said that texting was similar to handwriting in that it involved the use of personal styles and choices."

Fingerprint find in decade-old double murder probe / EurekAlert, 4 September 2008
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-09/uol-ffi090308.php
"A decade old US double murder probe has received a new breakthrough following investigations by a University of Leicester forensic scientist at Northamptonshire Police.
Dr John Bond, Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Leicester Forensic Research Centre and Scientific Support Manager at Northamptonshire Police, revealed today that he found fingerprints on bullet shell casings fired at the crime scene in 1999."

Indianapolis Police Deploy 'Trigger ID' / officer.com, 28 August 2008
http://www.officer.com/online/article.jsp?siteSection=20&id=42947
"The Indianapolis Metro Police Department on Wednesday introduced a new tool that they hope will result in more arrests in the fight against gun crimes. A kit called "Trigger ID" will allow street officers to gather DNA evidence from guns at crime scenes"

Fingerprint analysis technique could be used to identify bombmakers / EurekAlert, 26 August 2008
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-08/uol-fat082608.php
"The state-of-the-art forensic method that can identify fingerprints on bullets could now be used on bombs. The new techniques can pick up fingerprints on metal even after they have been wiped off."

Fingerprint breakthrough hope in US double murder probe / EurekAlert, 27 August 2008
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-08/uol-fbh082708.php
"A double murder investigation that has remained unsolved for almost a decade could be provided new impetus following a forensic breakthrough at the University of Leicester."

Shoe Print Evidence: Watch Where You Walk / officer.com, 25 August 2008
http://www.officer.com/web/online/Investigation/Shoe-Print-Evidence/18$42869
"... today there are over one hundred manufacturers of athletic shoes for both men and women. Each shoe with a distinctive pattern to their sole and the name of the brand in most cases stamped into the bottom of the shoe. Thus, a shoe print has become a much more vital piece of circumstantial evidence that can help place a perpetrator at the scene of the crime and possibly eliminate other persons of interest from consideration."

Hot bullet casings can still finger the criminal
New Scientist, 29 August 2008
http://digbig.com/4xkde
"Forensic scientists could soon be pulling fingerprints from fired bullet casings, a technique not unlike one used by Batman to track down the Joker in this year's summer blockbuster"

New techniques help trace heroin / BBC, 27 August 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/7582726.stm
"Forensic profiling has been developed in Glasgow to help trace the source of heroin arriving on the streets of Scotland. The Scottish Police Services Authority is analysing seized drugs to identify where they were processed and stored. Scientists from the authority are also studying the cutting or diluting agents to build a profile of the supply chain."

Forensic science: Secrets of the case against Crippen / The Observer, August 17 2008
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/aug/17/law.forensicscience?gusrc=rss&feed=uknews

"He was known as the people's pathologist, and made his name as a pioneering expert in some of the most gruesome murder cases in British history. Now the secrets of Britain's first forensic scientist - who helped convict Dr Crippen of his wife's murder and solve the Brides in the Bath killings - have been saved for the nation by the Wellcome Library."

39,000 innocent children on national DNA database / Independent.co.uk, 15 August 2008
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/39000-innocent-children-on-national-dna-database-898715.html

"The national DNA database contains the profiles of almost 40,000 innocent children, the Home Office said today. Junior minister Meg Hillier said the profiles of an estimated 39,095 10 to 17-year-olds who "had not been convicted, cautioned, received a final warning/reprimand and had no charge pending against them" were on the database. Opposition parties said it was evidence the Government was building a national DNA database by stealth and called for a parliamentary debate on the issue."

Citizens' Inquiry calls for more public information and oversight of National DNA Database/ Public Technology, 31 Jul 2008

http://www.publictechnology.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=16859

"The police National DNA Database should be placed under the control of an independent statutory authority, says the Human Genetics Commission. And there should be a vigorous nationwide information campaign to explain why DNA samples are taken, how they are used and why they are retained. These are two of the key recommendations in a report published yesterday from an independent Citizens’ Inquiry instigated by the Human Genetics Commission (HGC) in collaboration with the ESRC Genomics Policy and Research Forum in Edinburgh and the Policy, Ethics and Life Sciences Research Centre (PEALS) in Durham and Newcastle. The majority of the funding for the project was provided by the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills’ Sciencewise Programme and the Wellcome Trust."

Curse of the DNA register / Independent.co.uk, 30 July 2008

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/curse-of-the-dna-register-880307.html

"A generation of young Britons is being criminalised for life by the relentless expansion of the national DNA database, ministers are warned today. Alarm and hostility over the massive scale of the collection of DNA has been uncovered by groundbreaking research funded by the Home Office among panels of members of the public."

A Citizens’ Inquiry into the Forensic Use of DNA and the National DNA Database Citizens’ Report / Human Genetics Commission, July 2008
PDF - http://www.hgc.gov.uk/UploadDocs/DocPub/Document/Citizens%20Inquiry%20-%20Citizens%20Report.pdf
"A report written by the participants in the Citizens' Inquiry into the forensic use of genetic information and the National DNA Database, containing conclusions and recommendations."

Census of Publicly Funded Forensic Crime Laboratories, 2005 /
Bureau of Justice Statistics, July 2008
PDF - http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/cpffcl05.pdf
"The nation's nearly 400 publicly funded forensic crime laboratories perform a variety of forensic services, including DNA testing and controlled substance identification for federal, state, and local jurisdictions. The report examines the types of forensic requests received by these labs and the resources needed to complete them. Data are also presented on crime lab budgets, personnel, accreditations, and backlogged cases. The report includes comparative analyses with findings from the 2002 census."