Why the expansion of DNA evidence usage in SA will help curb crime – CapeTalk 567

Pippa Hudson speaks to director of DNA for Africa, Vanessa Lynch, about the importance of DNA evidence in the fight against crime in the country.

One of the biggest developments of the 21st century has been the rapid expansion of the use of DNA samples to solve and fight against criminal activities.

South Africa is a little late to the party, with guest and director of DNA for Africa, Vanessa Lynch, fighting for 20 years for the country to have a decent DNA criminal database following a personal tragedy.

Though slow to start and a withdrawal of funding that led to cases being backlogged, Lynch notes that the country is moving in the right direction.

The government has really come to the party, so to speak. They have allocated more funding, they've started building a new laboratory in the Eastern Cape, which is state of the art and should be finished next year, they've committed to a zero backlog by November 2021... contracts have been fulfilled, we're starting to see more hits on the database again, and we're moving in the right direction.

This is excellent news because, as Lynch mentions, DNA evidence is one of the strongest and most reliable sources of evidence we can use.

With DNA laws set in place and a growing database, what Lynch calls the "Convicted Offender Bill," was approved by the National Assembly earlier this year, which will allow authorities to sample the DNA of convicted offenders.

A number of the prisoners are serial offenders and they can be linked to other cold cases and serial cases. We've seen this in the past where unrelated cases are linked to a prisoner up to 30, 60 cases.

Though major strides are being reached in the country, Lynch says that the database needs to have its capacity increased, backlogs processed and sample analysations increased.

What we need to be doing is we need to be identifying these offenders at a much earlier stage so that we can save tomorrow's victims and we haven't really got to that point, yet. That's what we need to get to.

You can find out more about DNA for Africa on here.

Listen to the full interview above.

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Why the expansion of DNA evidence usage in SA will help curb crime - CapeTalk 567