The National DNA Data Bank of Canada Annual Report 2020-2021

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• Alternate formats
• Message from the Commissioner, Royal Canadian Mounted Police
• Quick facts
• 20 year anniversary
• The National DNA Data Bank
• Offender and forensic hits
• Success stories
• The National DNA Data Bank Advisory Committee
• Key statistics
• Financial statement

Alternate formats

Message from the Commissioner, Royal Canadian Mounted Police

I am pleased to present the 2020-2021 National DNA Data Bank annual report and to acknowledge the incredible work of the National DNA Data Bank as it celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. This would have not been possible without 20 years of employee dedication as well as the support of numerous partners in government, law enforcement, forensic and justice communities who have continued working together to provide a safe community for all Canadians.

Since building the National DNA Data Bank from scratch 20 years ago, the National DNA Data Bank has continuously improved its operations and technology to ensure efficient processes are in place to better serve and protect Canadians. It now stores over half a million DNA profiles in the criminal indices, which have produced more than 73,000 matches to date and assisted law enforcement agencies in the identification of suspects and victims, link crime scenes, and solve active and cold cases.

In addition to the success of the National DNA Data Bank, the National Missing Persons DNA Program also continues to grow — it now contains over 1,200 profiles in its database. As partner agencies submit more biological samples and DNA profiles to the program, we can work together to offer much-needed closure to the families and friends of missing persons.

The feature article and success stories in this report highlight the daily accomplishments of the National DNA Data Bank. This is possible with the technology improvements made throughout the years to expand the DNA profile acceptance criteria, along with legislative changes that allow for the qualification of more designated offences, leading to the increase in size of the data base. I am confident that the National DNA Data Bank will continue to modernize, evolve and grow to meet the needs and expectations of all Canadians.

Congratulations on a remarkable 20 years!

Brenda Lucki
Commissioner

Quick facts

• 11,879 Convicted Offender Samples Received in 2020/21 ^{footnote 1 footnote 2}
• 11,257 Increase in the Crime Scene Index in 2020/21
• 3,971 Offender Hits (Convicted Offender to Crime Scene) in 2020/21
• 356 Forensic Hits (Crime Scene to Crime Scene) in 2020/21
• 4,327 Associations made by the National DNA Data Bank in 2020/21 (Number of Offender and Forensic Hits)
• 73,750 Associations made by the National DNA Data Bank since June 30, 2000 (Number of Offender and Forensic Hits)
• 25 Human Remains Hits - Putative identifications made since March 6, 2018 ^{footnote 3}

20 year anniversary

DNA evidence was used to support criminal investigations in Canada as early as 1989, but it was not until June 30, 2000 that a national index containing the DNA profiles of criminal offenders would be created.

The origins of the National DNA Data Bank started in 1995 when Parliament unanimously passed former Bill C-104, an Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Young Offenders Act (forensic DNA analysis). It amended the Criminal Code to allow a judge to issue a warrant authorizing a police officer to obtain a biological sample from a suspect for the purpose of forensic DNA analysis in a criminal investigation. Five years later, on June 30, 2000, the DNA Identification Act was enacted and the National DNA Data Bank program was launched.

When the National DNA Data Bank first started its operations, it had the slow and steady task of collecting DNA profiles for two separate indices: one for the genetic profiles of known convicted offenders and the other for the DNA profiles processed from crime scenes across the country. The larger each of these indices grows, the more value they provide to criminal investigations. By 2006, the National DNA Data Bank achieved a milestone of 100,000 convicted offender profiles, with close to 7,000 matches between crime scenes and convicted offenders.

The value and relevance of indexing DNA profiles in support of the law enforcement and criminal justice communities continues to evolve. A few years ago, the role of the National DNA Data Bank expanded when there was an amendment to the DNA Identification Act that allowed new indices to be created in support of humanitarian investigations involving missing persons and unidentified human remains.

Over the past 20 years, DNA technology and innovation has also evolved and shaped the way many investigations are conducted and used as a trusted form of identification in criminal proceedings.

The National DNA Data Bank

The National DNA Data Bank is a centralized collection of over half a million DNA profiles that helps investigators across the country solve a range of crimes. The main goals are simple:

• link crime scenes across jurisdictional boundaries
• help identify or eliminate suspects
• determine whether a serial offender has been involved in certain crimes
• assist investigators, coroners and medical examiners to find missing persons and identify human remains

On behalf of the Government of Canada, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) is the steward of the National DNA Data Bank, which operates for the benefit of Canada's entire law enforcement community.

The DNA Identification Act allows the National DNA Data Bank to maintain the following indices (databases):

• Convicted Offenders Index
• Crime Scene Index
• Victims Index
• Voluntary Donors Index)
• Missing Persons Index
• Relatives of Missing Persons Index
• Human Remains Index

The Convicted Offenders Index, Crime Scene Index, Victims Index and Voluntary Donors Index provide assistance to criminal investigations as follows:

• Comparing DNA profiles found at crime scenes against the DNA profiles of convicted offenders (Crime Scene Index to Convicted Offenders Index). When a match is made, it can help identify a suspect. An "offender hit" is the term used to describe this type of DNA match. If no match is made, this information can also help eliminate suspects.
• Comparing DNA profiles found at different crime scenes (Crime Scene Index to Crime Scene Index). When a match is made between DNA profiles found at separate crime scenes, it can help link crimes for which no suspects have been identified. This determines whether a serial offender is involved in a number of cases. A "forensic hit" is the term used to describe this type of DNA match.
• Comparing DNA profiles contained in the Victims Index and the Voluntary Donors Index. This helps to identify unknown victims, link crime scenes together through victim and voluntary donor DNA profiles, or eliminate the voluntary donors from the focus of an investigation. The Voluntary Donors Index can also be used for elimination purposes in humanitarian investigations.

As part of the National Missing Persons DNA Program, the National DNA Data Bank maintains the Missing Persons Index, Relatives of Missing Persons Index and Human Remains Index to support humanitarian investigations at the national level. These indices allow DNA profiles developed from biological samples and other items collected and submitted by police, coroners and medical examiners to be compared to other DNA profiles in the National DNA Data Bank. The DNA profiles in the Relatives of Missing Persons Index are only compared to those in the Missing Persons Index and the Human Remains Index.

Offender and forensic hits

When the National DNA Data Bank first began operating in 2000, it contained few DNA profiles. As more DNA profiles are added to the National DNA Data Bank over the years, a greater number of matches are made in less time.

Convicted offender submissions

Every year, the National DNA Data Bank processes convicted offender submissions consisting of:

• biological samples (used to generate DNA profiles that are entered into the Convicted Offenders Index); or
• Endorsement submissions (fingerprints and documentation for convicted offenders whose DNA profiles are already in the Convicted Offenders Index).

Before executing a new DNA order or authorization, a police officer must query the Canadian Police Information Centre to determine whether a convicted offender's DNA profile is already in the National DNA Data Bank. Endorsements therefore consist only of fingerprints and documentation. The endorsement process ensures that a convicted offender's DNA profile will remain in the National DNA Data Bank if the endorsement is received prior to:

• the conviction for which the original DNA order was made is being quashed on appeal;
• the original DNA order/authorization is being quashed on appeal; or
• the retention period is expiring because the person was either:
• convicted as a young person; or
• previously discharged under Section 730 of the Criminal Code of a designated offence. (Note: this condition was removed as of March 6, 2018 when amendments to the DNA Identification Act came into force).

When the National DNA Data Bank receives either a biological sample or an endorsement submission, the documentation is reviewed to ensure that the DNA order was issued for a criminal offence for which DNA can legally be collected and that the offender's personal information required for the submission is complete and accurate.

All convicted offender submissions are recorded in the National DNA Data Bank's internal tracking system without any of the offender's personal information. Documentation for convicted offender biological sample and endorsement submissions are sent to the RCMP's Canadian Criminal Real Time Identification Services so they can be certified; associated with an individual by fingerprint comparison; and recorded in the individual's criminal record.

Processing of biological samples

Comparing DNA profiles

The DNA profiles in the National DNA Data Bank are compared using the Combined DNA Index System, which is a secure network and software program developed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Department of Justice, and provided to the RCMP for use by the National DNA Data Bank. Combined DNA Index System has become an internationally accepted tool for many forensic laboratories, allowing DNA profile information to be compared using a standard, secure format. In Canada, the National DNA Data Bank uses Combined DNA Index System for daily comparisons of DNA profiles. Each new DNA profile entered into one of the National DNA Data Bank's DNA indices is automatically compared against all existing profiles contained in other DNA indices as permitted by the DNA Identification Act.

International participation

The National DNA Data Bank shares DNA information with international investigating authorities through an international DNA Information Sharing Agreement with INTERPOL. This agreement is approved by the Government of Canada and is limited to investigations and prosecutions of designated offences or investigations involving missing persons and unidentified human remains.

Since the first international agreement was signed in 2002, the National DNA Data Bank has received 1,889 incoming international requests related to criminal investigations to search the Convicted Offenders Index (COI), the Crime Scene Index (CSI), the Missing Persons Index (MPI) and the Human Remains Index (HRI). These searches produced 7 offender hits and 11 forensic hits. Furthermore, the National DNA Data Bank has sent 353 requests related to criminal investigations to other INTERPOL countries for comparison to DNA profiles developed from crime scene samples, resulting in 8 offender hits and 2 forensic hits.

In 2018, the agreement was updated to allow international comparisons of DNA profiles from missing persons and unidentified human remains. Since then, the National DNA Data Bank has received 89 incoming international requests to search missing persons and unidentified human remains profiles against the Convicted Offenders Index, the Crime Scene Index, the Missing Persons Index and the Human Remains Index. The National DNA Data Bank has sent 26 requests to other INTERPOL countries for comparison of DNA profiles developed from missing persons and unidentified human remains. To date, none of these searches have resulted in an association.

Privacy of information

The DNA Identification Act specifies that DNA profiles in the National DNA Data Bank's indices can only be used for law enforcement or humanitarian purposes. The Act also clearly states that the DNA profiles in the Relatives of Missing Persons Index can only be compared to DNA profiles in the Missing Persons Index and Human Remains Index.

As an additional safeguard to protect the privacy of an individual, when a convicted offender's DNA sample arrives at the National DNA Data Bank, the donor's identity is separated from his or her genetic information, and the sample is identified by a numeric bar code. These bar codes are the only link connecting personal information, the biological sample and the DNA profile. The offender's personal information is kept in a separate registry maintained by the RCMP's Canadian Criminal Real Time Identification Services, which National DNA Data Bank employees cannot access. This process ensures that National DNA Data Bank staff never know which convicted offender's DNA profile they are processing. Likewise, Canadian Criminal Real Time Identification Services employees do not have access to the genetic information of an offender. With the exception of biological sex, DNA profiles held within the indices of the National DNA Data Bank do not reveal any medical or physical information about the donor.

The Act further protects Canadians' privacy rights by requiring informed consent for submissions to the Relatives of Missing Persons Index, the Victims Index and the Voluntary Donors Index. This consent can be withdrawn at any time by the contributor. In addition, at least once every five years, the investigating agency is contacted about the case to ensure that the person from whom the DNA profile was obtained has not withdrawn their consent. Investigators are also asked whether they believe the DNA profile will continue to assist in the investigation for which it was obtained. If removal is requested or if the investigating agency fails to respond, then the DNA profile is removed from the appropriate DNA index and the biological sample is destroyed.

Lastly, the National DNA Data Bank will only share DNA information with other investigative authorities as permitted by legislation.

The value of secondary designated offence submissions

The Criminal Code classifies those offences that may be the subject of a DNA order as either primary or secondary designated offences. When the National DNA Data Bank first started its operations in 2000, the number of secondary designated offences was limited. In 2008, the Criminal Code was amended and the list of secondary designated offences was expanded to include a wider range of offences (for example failure to appear and drug offences). While usually less violent, these offences can help solve more serious criminal offences.

To illustrate the value of these offences, offender hit data was selected from the National DNA Data Bank for a few common secondary designated offences. The figure below provides the number of offender hits to ongoing investigations (including murders and sexual assaults) that were the outcome of DNA orders being issued for offenders convicted of secondary designated offences.

• Secondary designated offences for which a DNA Order has been issued
  • S. 145 (1)-(11) Failure to appear, to comply, etc... ^{Footnote 4}
    • 2,284 associations
      • 88 murders
      • 159 sexual assaults
  • S. 266 Assault
    • 8,553 associations
      • 597 murders
      • 1,400 sexual assaults
  • Drug offences (Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and Cannabis Act)
    • 2,585 associations
      • 214 murders
      • 215 sexual assaults
  • S. 264.1 Uttering threat
    • 1,074 associations
      • 65 murders
      • 136 sexual assaults

Success stories

For the past 20 years, the National DNA Data Bank has provided vital support to over 73,000 criminal investigations and court proceedings at the local, national and international levels. The index of convicted offenders DNA profiles has been crucial in helping to solve numerous cold cases. Some of the more high profile of these investigations include the sexual assault and brutal murder in 1984 of a popular Quebec actress, Denise Morelle; the 1992 murder of Marie Lorraine Dupe, a convenience store clerk in Nova Scotia who was stabbed repeatedly; the 1987 murder of Lilian Berube who was beaten to death during a break and enter; the 1995 attempted murder of a Quebec correctional officer; and the violent murders of two children in two separate cases, six-year-old Corrine Gustavson in Alberta in 1992 and nine-year-old Joleil Campeau in Quebec in 1995. The offenders left behind no leads other than DNA and it was this that eventually helped identify them and link them to their heinous crimes.

In other cases, quick identification was possible because the offender's DNA was already in the National DNA Data Bank. This was the case in 2016 when a suspect was arrested six days after the sexual assault of a young woman on New Year's Day in Newmarket and in the case of 2 sexual assaults in Montréal in 2018 where the serial offender was identified within a few weeks. The National DNA Data Bank has also provided valuable information across Canada's borders. One example is in 2002, a disturbing Ohio murder where the suspect was identified as a known offender in Canada following the airing of an episode of America's Most Wanted.

All these and countless other cases have been supported by the National DNA Data Bank in accordance with the DNA Identification Act. A few other stories are provided here in more detail and have been randomly selected to help showcase the value of DNA databases in support of public safety. Due to cases still being in the courts and other considerations, the following true stories represent only a sample of the numerous cases where DNA analysis has been instrumental in shaping the course of an investigation.

National DNA Data Bank advisory committee

Established in 2000 under the mandate of the DNA Identification Act, the National DNA Data Bank Advisory Committee provides the National DNA Data Bank with strategic guidance and direction on scientific advancements, matters of law, legislative changes, privacy issues and ethical practices. In addition, the Advisory Committee reports to the Commissioner of the RCMP on matters related to the National DNA Data Bank operations and advises the Commissioner on a range of issues related to DNA ethics, scientific advancements and legislative changes. The members of the Advisory Committee are appointed by the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness and collectively represent a diverse spectrum of expertise. The current members of the Advisory Committee are:

Brendan Heffernan (Chairperson)

RCMP Chief Superintendent (retired), representing the police community.

Derrill Prevett, Queen's Counsel (Vice-chair)

Attorney and legal expert, with over 37 years experience in high profile cases involving DNA evidence.

Dr. Frederick R. Bieber, Ph. D.

Bio-Medical Ethics, Specialist and Associate Professor of Pathology at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Bieber is a medical geneticist at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.

Dr. Ron Fourney, Ph. D., Officer of the Order of Merit of the Police Forces

Director of Science and Strategic Partnerships, RCMP, and a founding member of the National DNA Data Bank.

Sue O'Sullivan, B.A., Officer of the Order of Merit of the Police Forces

Human Rights Specialist, with extensive experience in advocacy for victims of crime.

Dr. Michael Szego, Ph. D., Master of Health Science

Clinical Ethicist and Director of the Centre for Clinical Ethics. Dr. Szego is an Assistant Professor, Department of Family and Community Medicine and Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto.

Dr. Ben Koop, Ph. D.

Medical Genetics Expert and Professor of Biology at the University of Victoria.

Lacey Batalov (Represented by Sofia Scichilone)

Representing the Privacy Commissioner of Canada

Key statistics

Biological samples: June 30, 2000 through March 31, 2021

Endorsements: January 1, 2008 through March 31, 2021

The decrease in numbers this reporting period is attributed to the global pandemic, which impacted the volume of submissions throughout 2020 and significantly disrupted partner contributions and the National DNA Data Bank's ability to provide services at full capacity.

Financial statement