The National DNA Data Bank of Canada - Annual Report 2023-2024

Offender and forensic hits

When the National DNA Data Bank first began operating in 2000, it contained few DNA profiles. As more DNA profiles were added over the years, a greater number of matches were 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)
• endorsement submissions (fingerprints and supporting documentation for convicted offenders whose DNA profiles are already in the Convicted Offenders Index)

Before executing a new DNA order or authorization, an officer must query the Canadian Police Information Centre to determine whether a convicted offender's DNA profile is already in the Convicted Offenders Index. If it is, the officer can use the endorsement process to ensure that a convicted offender's DNA profile will remain in the index if:

• 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
• the retention period is expiring because the person was either:
  • convicted as a young person
  • 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 a biological sample or an endorsement submission is received, 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 an internal tracking system without any of the offender's personal information. The supporting documentation for convicted offender biological sample or endorsement submissions are sent to the RCMP's Canadian Criminal Real Time Identification Services so they can be 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 are compared using the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), 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. CODIS has become an internationally accepted tool for forensic laboratories, allowing DNA profile information to be compared using a standard, secure format. In Canada, the National DNA Data Bank uses CODIS for daily comparisons of DNA profiles. Each new DNA profile entered into one of the national DNA indices is automatically compared against profiles contained in other national 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 the International Criminal Police Organization (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, 1,974 incoming international requests related to criminal investigations to search the Convicted Offenders Index, the Crime Scene Index, the Missing Persons Index and the Human Remains Index were received. These searches produced 9 offender hits and 13 forensic hits. Furthermore, 400 requests related to criminal investigations were sent to other countries with an INTERPOL agreement for comparison to DNA profiles developed from crime scene samples, resulting in 12 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, 113 incoming international requests were received 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. Furthermore, 65 requests were sent to other countries with an INTERPOL agreement for comparison of DNA profiles developed from missing persons and unidentified human remains. The incoming requests resulted in 2 putative identification and the outgoing requests resulted in 2 putative identifications.

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 individuals, when a convicted offender’s biological sample is received, 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 the National DNA Data Bank employees do not have access to offenders’ personal information for DNA profiles they are processing. Likewise, Canadian Criminal Real Time Identification Services employees do not have access to the offenders’ genetic information. With the exception of biological sex, DNA profiles do not reveal medical or physical information about the donor.

The Act further protects privacy rights by requiring informed consent for submissions of DNA profiles 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, DNA information will only be shared 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 (such as failure to appear and drug offences). While usually less violent, these offences can help solve more serious criminal offences.

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

DNA match secures conviction in old historical case

On September 17, 1981, a woman was sexually assaulted while in an underground parkade garage within a condominium complex in Edmonton, Alberta.

Following the incident, the police accompanied the woman to the hospital for examination, where she provided biological samples to aid the investigation. These samples, as well as the clothes she was wearing during the incident, were sent to the forensic laboratory. Forensic DNA testing was not available at the time and the positive semen test results alone could not provide sufficient leads to further the investigation. The case remained unsolved for 38 years.

In 2019, the Edmonton Police Service historical crimes section breathed new life into the old investigation by resubmitting the victim’s clothing items to the RCMP National Forensic Laboratory Services for DNA analysis. A DNA profile was recovered from the clothing items, which matched that of a known convicted offender in the National DNA Data Bank.

The suspect was apprehended in February 2020 and charged with rape under the 1981 Criminal Code. His conviction for the crime came in September 2023, a staggering 42 years after the assault, resulting in a three-and-a-half-year prison sentence. The judge, citing the reliability and trustworthiness of the DNA evidence presented, found no reasonable doubt regarding the suspect's guilt.

This landmark case stands as one of the National DNA Data Bank’s oldest DNA matches, and highlights the enduring impact of forensic technologies in delivering justice even decades after the commission of a crime.

The advancements made in obtaining viable profiles from very old samples of genetic material, and the work the National DNA Data Bank does at cataloging these samples, has resulted in justice for survivors of sexual violence; justice that they would never have thought was possible. It also means that offenders can’t rely on the fog of time to cover their crimes. You can’t hide from your own DNA; justice will come for you, it’s simply a matter of time.

Murder conviction cemented thanks to DNA match

On May 24, 2018, a man entered a church library situated in downtown Ottawa, where he severely beat and sexually assaulted a 59-year-old volunteer librarian.

A few hours after the attack, a co-worker discovered the victim unconscious and promptly dialed 911. The victim was transported to the hospital to receive immediate treatment. Based on information from the first responders, and with the husband’s consent, the medical team conducted a thorough sexual assault examination of the victim. Subsequently, the evidence collected was submitted to the Centre of Forensic Sciences for analysis. Tragically, the victim later succumbed to her injuries.

Law enforcement collected surveillance footage from nearby businesses, and recordings were sent to local police agencies. Within a single day, a suspect was identified and placed under surveillance.

On Sunday May 27, 2018, the investigators received confirmation that a DNA profile obtained from the evidence collected during the sexual assault examination matched a DNA profile in the Convicted Offender Index, confirming the identity of the suspect and leading to his immediate arrest. Subsequently, the victim’s DNA profile was obtained from the suspect’s personal belongings, further solidifying his connection to the assault.

On December 11, 2022, the suspect was convicted of first-degree murder for the 2018 assault and murder of the librarian. Conviction for first degree murder carries an automatic life sentence with no possibility of parole for 25 years.

The importance of the DNA database in this case was paramount, and solidified the identity of the victim’s attacker within four days of her murder.

DNA match leads to conviction in 22-year assault case

In the early morning of December 1, 2001 a young woman was startled awake by a man in the bedroom of her home in Richmond, British Columbia. The assailant pinned her down and physically and sexually assaulted her. After the assault, once she was certain the man had left, the victim fled to a nearby convenience store and asked to call the police.

Responding RCMP officers escorted the victim to the hospital where various biological samples were collected and forwarded to the RCMP National Forensic Laboratory Services to aid in the investigation. While a male DNA profile was obtained from the evidence, it failed to match to any known offender in the National DNA Data Bank at the time.

Over the following 14 years, more than 20 suspects were identified and investigated. On each occasion the unknown male DNA profile was compared to potential suspect DNA profiles by the RCMP forensic scientists. Despite these efforts, all suspects were eventually cleared, leaving the case unsolved.

In 2015, due to a conviction for an unrelated offence, an offender was compelled to provide a biological sample for inclusion in the National DNA Data Bank. This offender’s profile proved to be a match for the DNA profile collected in the 2001 sexual assault case.

On October 23, 2023, nearly 22 years after the crime occurred, the suspect was convicted of one count of sexual assault and one count of breaking and entering, thanks to the lead generated within the National DNA Data Bank.

Despite considerable neighbourhood inquiries and suspect canvassing, the initial phase of this investigation failed to surface the assailant. Diligent processing of the crime scene and handling of exhibits led to the identification and conviction of the offender through a match with the National DNA Data Bank. Besides playing a key role in the offender’s conviction, the DNA evidence allowed police to eliminate other potential suspects and focus investigative efforts. It is through the National DNA Data Bank that we were able to resolve this case, provide answers to the victim, and potentially prevent other violent sexual crimes.

Cross-border collaboration brings closure to family of missing person

In January 2023, Peel Regional Police received a report of a missing woman last seen in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Niagara Regional Police Service was notified and informed its law enforcement partners in the United States. Just a few months later, in May, the New York State Police found remains matching the description of the woman reported missing in Canada.

A collaborative effort between multiple partners began in order to make a positive identification. Niagara Regional Police Service and Peel Regional Police obtained and submitted biological samples from the found remains and personal effects of the missing person. These DNA profiles were compared with profiles obtained from the missing person’s family members and submitted to the National Missing Persons DNA Program, with the help of RCMP liaison officers.

In July 2023 the National DNA Data Bank reported an association between the remains found in the United States and the missing person from Canada.

According to Peel Regional Police Detective Constable Kelly Hewitt, through the joint efforts of Niagara Regional Police, Niagara Parks Police, New York State Police, and the National Missing Persons DNA Program, positive identification was made, giving closure to the missing person’s loved ones.

The National DNA Data Bank continues to play a critical role helping with the identification of found remains across the nation.

As a routine practice regarding missing person investigations, the Niagara Regional Police Service ensures that personal effects and familial DNA are sought at the onset of an incident. It is of utmost importance to have DNA profiles entered into the National DNA Data Bank, as one can never be certain when, and where, their loved one potentially could be located or recovered.

The National DNA Data Bank assisted in positively identifying and locating numerous cases here in the Niagara Region. Notably, our close proximity to the United States border means that we have also used the National DNA Data Bank to help identify people recovered from international waterways.

Without the cooperation from families and the assistance of the Program, many families would never receive the closure that they deserve.