SLC company creates cloud-based DNA database for local police

Paul Fraughton | Salt Lake Tribune Kari Killian, a forensic technician at Sorenson Forensics, works in a lab extracting DNA from a sample. Tuesday, October 23, 2012

With a few quick clicks, Mark Szczepanski uploads the file from his desktop to a simple, red-and-white web page. A few seconds later, a bar graphic turns green.

If Szczepanski was a police officer, he might have just found a rape suspect.

He was using a test version of a new cloud-based DNA database offered by Utahs Sorenson Forensics, a DNA testing company. Simple to use and easy to update, the LEAD (Local Entry Accessible DNA) Database was created for local police departments and almost instantly compares DNA test results say, a suspects cheek swab with a semen sample collected at a rape scene.

It has the potential to change the way police use DNA testing, allowing them to access the information more easily and use the technology to investigate more crimes, said Lars Mouritsen, Sorenson Forensics chief scientific officer.

"Its pretty simplebut incredibly powerful," he said. The product offers a possible solution to state agencies struggle to keep up with the explosive growth of DNA testing in police work, but concerns privacy advocates who question the security of cloud-based computing and the wisdom of entrusting such sensitive information to a private company.

"How are you ensuring that data would be kept safe?" said Marina Lowe, the legislative counsel for the Salt Lake City chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Explosion of DNA data Since the firstDNA-based conviction in 1987, the technology has become an essential tool for police all over the country. Scientists can now extract DNA from miniscule collections of cells even a touch can leave enough evidence.

"DNA, for us, is extremely valuable," said Salt Lake City Police Detective Mike Hamideh, a 17-year veteran who spent eight years in homicide and narcotics. And juries schooled on the long-running hit TV show "CSI" are often looking for such scientific, non-subjective data.

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SLC company creates cloud-based DNA database for local police