Investigative genetic genealogy is also often referred to as forensic genealogy and has been around as a practice since about the 1950s.
However, since it wasn’t a widely known methodology until much recently, very few people knew much about it until it broke into the news in a big way with the capture of the Golden State Killer.
Here in the US, many cold cases are now being reopened by investigators using genetic genealogy methodologies and consumer DNA databases for new leads. And although this approachhas been pretty successful, along with the news about newly solved crimes, we are seeing red flags involving the potential risks to privacy emerge as well
Here are some interesting facts about this new and popular field in forensics.
IGG Can Help Investigators Get Closer To Both Victims And Perpetrators
In a lot of cold cases, forensic genealogy has helped identify criminals through the use of genealogical methods, such as the notorious Golden State Killer case.
You Could Find Yourself In The Middle Of An Investigation Even Without A DNA Test
Your genealogical data is shared with your close and distant relatives. So, technically, if a close cousin or other relative is part of the database, you could be contacted by the authorities during an investigation for more information about the family tree or maybe just for target testing for narrowing down the pool of suspects.
It’s nothing to worry about, though, as long as you’ve committed no intentional crimes and are cooperating with the law officers.
It’s Possible To Hire An Online DNA Detective
While investigative genetic genealogy is a gradually growing branch of forensics, more and more law enforcement agencies are using it to investigate long-forgotten cold cases.
If you’re a law enforcement agent or detective with a challenging cold case that might benefit from these new methodologies, t, reach out to the online DNA detective at DavisDNA And Family Research for expert DNA research assistance.
Give us a call to discuss further.