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Forensic DNA Education for Law Enforcement Decisionmakers

Identifying Potential DNA Evidence

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Identifying Potential DNA Evidence

Typical sources of DNA include blood, saliva, semen, hair and touch evidence. Sources of DNA can be present on a variety of surfaces including food items, hats, bottles, cans, clothing, glasses, shoes, tape, cigarettes, etc.

To aid in determining what evidence could potentially contain DNA useful to an investigation, investigators should have a basic understanding of the principles of DNA and the processes used by the laboratory to analyze submitted samples.7

Cigarette in an ashtray
National Institute of Justice (NIJ) (see reuse policy).
lipstick stain on a cup of coffee
National Institute of Justice (NIJ) (see reuse policy).
The end of a hair follicle
National Institute of Justice (NIJ) (see reuse policy).

7 Simon Ashikhmin, Susan G. Berdine, Mitchell R. Morrissey and Greggory S. LaBerge, Effectiveness and Cost Efficiency of DNA Evidence in Volume Crime Denver Colorado Site Summary PDF download: 80kB 

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