Big database – one in every 11 persons – from 2007 gives South Australia lead in using DNA to solve crimes
By 2023, the state’s DNA database had one in every 11 or 9% of South Australians –161,000 individuals – registered. Its size resulted in seven out of every 10 samples submitted for testing producing a positive match in crime solving. Forensic Science SA's lead in familial DNA test helped solve the 1993 cold care murder of Susanne Polle (right).
South Australia, through the work of the state government Forensic Science SA, led Australia in the early 21st Century in using DNA testing to solve crime.
South Australia’s database of individuals' DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) profiles was introduced in 1999 after intense debate between police and the state government over the strength of the legislation relating to taking the profile samples. Initially only the profiles of convicted criminals were retained but, in 2007, the law was changed to make it mandatory for suspects’ samples also to be retained.
This meant that, by 2023, the state’s DNA database had one in every 11 or 9% of South Australians –161,000 individuals – registered. Its size resulted in seven out of every 10 samples submitted for testing producing a positive match in crime solving. The database also had 27,000 crime scene samples compared with 25,000 crime scene samples and 148,000 person samples in 2020.
South Australia also led the nation in the use of familial DNA testing: identifying a suspect using the DNA of a close relative. Familial DNA testing was first used successfully in Australia in South Australia in 2015 to catch and convict the North Adelaide serial rapist and for the breakthrough in the 1993 cold case murder of Suzanne Poll at Salisbury north of Adelaide.
Forensic Science SA acting director Andrew Camilleri told the The Advertiser newspaper in Adelaide that have both the high percentage of the population on the DNA database and the strike rate for matches was among the highest in the world: “The 70 per cent hit rate is as good as you will find anywhere in the world and demonstrates the effectiveness of the database. It shows the value of having offenders and suspects on the database because it often leads to successful outcomes in criminal activity.’’
In 2022/23, South Australian police submitted DNA samples for testing in around 2000 cases, ranging from major, such as murder and sexual assaults, to minor, such as breakins and thefts.
Scientists at Forensic Science SA were at the forefront of DNA technology initially with the use of the rudimentary Quadruplex system and the supersensitive Globalfiler and STARmix interpretative software systems that helped in many of South Australia’s cold case murder investigations. Forensic Science South Australia later led the nation with the new activity level reporting that examined crime scene activity creating a DNA transfer beyond just the DNA profile itself.
Forensic scientists were also set to to use advanced familial DNA testing to identify the remains of 19 people found in South Australia. One the unidentified persons was a female found along the River Murray in 1952 but most had been found since the late 1970s.
