The RCMP created a national bank for the DNA of missing persons

PHOTO AGENCE QMI, JOEL LEMAY

QMI agency

Monday, 12 march 2018 13:54

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Monday, 12 march 2018 13:54

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OTTAWA – The royal Canadian mounted police (RCMP) will now be a dna data bank for missing persons, a tool that will be accessible to all police services in the country.

Launched Monday morning, the new national program of the RCMP will store three types of biological samples and DNA profiles in the national dna data Bank (NDDB).

A file will be devoted to the genetic profile of missing persons developed from personal effects like a toothbrush or clothes. A second file will store the DNA of human remains found. Then, the relatives of disappeared people will be able to voluntarily submit their genetic profile for comparison purposes.

The department of public Safety ensures that, out of respect for the privacy, the data collected from parents will not be used in the context of criminal investigations.

Two other files will also be added to the NDDB. Victims of crime may voluntarily submit their genetic profile in order to help, for example, to make links between different crime scenes, or to identify repeat offenders. Any donor, or volunteer, other than a victim may also submit samples to advance an investigation.

Police services, coroners and forensic pathologists from across Canada will be able to turn to the laboratory of the national dna data BANK for analysis.

This program “will not solve all cases, but it will be a valuable tool to the provision of police services so that they can help loved ones to turn the page”, reported by press release the minister of public Safety, Ralph Goodale. The latter indicates that the establishment of the data bank has required four years of work.

According to the ministry’s figures, more than 78,000 people were reported missing in 2017 in Canada, of which 88 % were found in seven days or less. Approximately 500 individuals each year are still missing a year after the reporting.