QUEENSLAND TAKES NATIONAL LEAD IN DNA MATCHING

Premier Peter Beattie has announced that Queensland has signed an arrangement for DNA matching with the Commonwealth – ensuring that Queensland remains a leading jurisdiction in Australia for DNA inter-jurisdictional matches.

Mr Beattie said Queensland police can now match DNA profiles from DNA databases from the Commonwealth and Queensland on the National Criminal Investigation DNA Database at CrimTrac.

“Criminals have no regard for state boundaries, so by putting these matching arrangements in place it gives police a better chance to crack unsolved crimes, or offences previously thought to have been unrelated, through DNA evidence,” Mr Beattie said.

“This is a significant development, and builds on the existing DNA matching arrangements that Queensland already has in place with the Northern Territory and Western Australia.

“By further expanding our matching arrangements, we are opening new avenues of investigation to bring those people to justice. This helps increase the chances of police solving crimes and identifying people of interest in unsolved ‘cold cases’.”

Mr Beattie said Queensland began DNA-matching on the National Criminal Investigation DNA Database with Western Australia and the Northern Territory last year.

“Since 2002, DNA matching technology within Queensland has been used to generate more than 7,800 suspect matches in homicides, sexual crimes and property offences,” Mr Beattie said.

“Together with Western Australia and the Northern Territory, we have loaded more than 180,000 DNA profiles from people and crime scenes onto the National Criminal Investigation DNA Database for comparison.

“Queensland has loaded more than 84,000 person samples and 10,000 crime scene samples.”

Mr Beattie said new unsolved crime scene DNA profiles were being loaded all the time.

“As of November 30 this year, interstate people have been linked to 109 Queensland crime scenes, ranging from break and enters to more serious sexual offences and robberies through the national database,” Mr Beattie said.

“Fifty-five Queensland crime scenes have been linked to people in Western Australia, and 54 crime scenes to people in the Northern Territory.”

Two case studies show how DNA matching can help police investigations

- In 1993 an offender allegedly raped a female in Mitchelton. An unidentified male profile was obtained from crime scene samples and put on the national database. The Queensland sample matched to the profile of a 35 year old man from the Northern Territory. He has been extradited, and legal proceedings have commenced.

- In 1998 a man sexually assaulted a woman at Surfers Paradise. Crime scene samples were loaded onto the national database, and a match was triggered with a man already listed on the Western Australian DNA database. A brief of evidence has been compiled for extradition purposes.

Mr Beattie said negotiations were continuing with the ACT and remaining states to increase the matching capabilities.

Media contact: 3224 4550 (Premier’s office)

3239 6218 (Minister’s office)

31 December 2006