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DNA Database System Oversight Committee Annual Report 2023
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The Minister for Justice Helen McEntee published the annual report of the DNA Database System Oversight Committee.
The findings of the 2023 annual report reflect the increasing importance of the DNA Database System in the criminal justice system and in the investigation of crime, with the database having assisted in 730 investigations throughout 2023.
- at the end of 2023 the DNA Database system contained 74,628 individual DNA profiles, a 10.9% increase on 2022
- on the same date there were 55,427 DNA profiles on the Reference Index, and 12,121 crime stains on the DNA Database System, representing an increase of 10.7% and 10.2% respectively, since 2022
The annual report also highlighted the value of the DNA Database System in supporting international crime investigations. At the end of 2023, Forensic Science Ireland (FSI) was exchanging DNA data with 11 countries under the Prüm Treaty. Significant investigative results were achieved through the information exchanged, in particular information exchanged between Ireland and the United Kingdom. FSI intends to commence further connections with additional countries in 2024.
Minister McEntee said:
“This national DNA database is one of the most important crime fighting tools we have and is an essential part of our criminal justice system. I want to thank the Oversight Committee for their continued work to ensure that the integrity and efficiency of the database is upheld to the highest standard.
“And as the DNA Database System has grown considerably and become an important resource for identifying perpetrators, it also continues to have an international reach through information exchange with other countries under the Prüm Treaty.”
The 2023 annual report also outlined the ongoing collaboration and engagement between the Oversight Committee and criminal justice agencies involved in the collection of DNA samples under the Criminal Justice Act 2014, most notably the Irish Prison Service and An Garda Síochána.
A number of key milestones were reached on Forensic Science Ireland’s transition to the Backweston Campus in Celbridge, Co. Kildare throughout 2023. The possession of the building was officially transferred to FSI on 3 July 2023, with the first staff inductions and transitions taking place on 4 July 2023.
