Have you heard that law enforcement is using genealogy combined with DNA testing to catch criminals? In this post, learn more about DNA privacy and law enforcement.
Plus, find out if and how you should protect the privacy of your DNA.
Since public learning that authorities had captured the notorious Golden State Killer using DNA and popular genealogy websites to track his or her ancestry, public awareness about this topic has dramatically increased and discussions about genetic testing and law enforcement have led to heated discussions regarding both privacy and ethics issues.
Should You Worry? At first, I hesitated to address this topic on my blog due to all of the articles written about it by major publications. But after receiving numerous inquiries via e-mail and receiving various citations on it from major journals, I decided to offer my viewpoints on it here.
Below I will outline three reasons why DNA information shouldn’t worry you too much when used by law enforcement and professional genealogists to identify dangerous criminals, which is why I continue supporting DNA testing as well as our online communities that promote sharing DNA information generously.
This post expresses only my personal views. Every DNA tester should understand how their data is being utilized and make their own choices regarding privacy issues.
Before I go any further with this topic, some background is necessary so we are all working from a similar understanding of facts.
DNA testing companies don’t share DNA data with law enforcement without first receiving a court warrant.
No major DNA testing company discloses information to law enforcement without first receiving a valid warrant, meaning law enforcement can only access special or restricted access data that would normally not be accessible by everyday website users.
Some DNA testing companies do not permit DNA uploads onto their website, and therefore restrict law enforcement’s ability to utilize their database as described herein.
When you test or upload your DNA sample to an online DNA testing service to find matches, you aren’t simply providing it to law enforcement agencies.
Law enforcement employs similar DNA matching strategies when building family trees.
Law enforcement utilized genetic genealogy strategies and DNA data collected at a crime scene where they believed the Golden State Killer may have been present to identify him.
Gedmatch, a popular website used by both professional and amateur genetic genealogists, allowed law enforcement officials to view genetic matches between the Golden State Killer and his or her DNA matches as well as some family tree information on these matches.
Criminals identified through DNA techniques tend to be seriously dangerous; most resources dedicated to tracking down dangerous criminals using genetic genealogy techniques focus on finding dangerous criminals who have committed violent crimes such as rapes or murders.
At times, these criminals have committed multiple rapes and murders!
Joseph James DeAngelo was arrested after being accused of at least 13 murders, 50 rapes, and 100 burglaries – making his capture all the more welcome by society at large. It’s generally agreed upon that this arrest has taken him off the street permanently.
I consider it to be an exceptionally beneficial thing.
Please read below the top three reasons that law enforcement and DNA privacy shouldn’t worry you too much.
1. Police don’t need your actual DNA in order to use DNA databases effectively in tracking down criminals
As previously discussed, police officers could upload DNA information obtained from crime scenes directly onto Gedmatch website for analysis and comparison purposes. As you or I would use such a site ourselves, this was exactly how detectives utilized Gedmatch’s services.
Upload our DNA information, wait for it to process, and perform a One-to-Many comparison to identify all our matches on the site.
Simply, this list provides some interesting details. As seen in the image above, anyone could learn a few details about criminal DNA matches (i.e. us “average Joes”) using this site:
Where someone did their initial DNA test (“A” for Ancestry in their kit number, for instance). Wether or not they’re male or female. What total DNA has been shared, how long its largest segment shared is, as well as the person’s name or designated alias (if available).
Customers using email accounts to register accounts will also have their credentials reset to prevent further attacks on those accounts.
Genetic genealogists utilize DNA information to create family trees in order to find criminals.
If I were the criminal and law enforcement had uploaded my DNA information into a file, there are a few steps they could take to identify me. First off, they’d need to hire an expert in genetic genealogy.
Genetic genealogy experts could use my information above to construct a basic family tree for me using DNA and genealogy techniques. This would especially be possible if they have access to Ancestry or another site for searching records – something law enforcement officers likely do.
Since they work closely with law enforcement, they may also have access to high-quality databases with information on living people – something most genealogists struggle to locate.
How would they construct such a tree? Take Shelley as an example – she appears in my list in the image above and we can see how much DNA we share together.
With our shared 134 cMs, this means we are most likely second or third cousins and they use this knowledge to research Shelley’s family tree; which can easily be located through her Ancestry profile.
Genealogist working for law enforcement can use second cousins (my cousin Bo) who share great-grandparents and third cousins (me) who share great-great grandparents to build a family tree using another DNA match (Bo) from which to trace our descent, then locate where these trees intersect – BINGO! They’ve found who directly descended from me!
If they want to get really fancy, they could construct additional trees representing Jane and John’s families (as a way of showing how closely we are related).
If I were suspected of any crimes, they might start by compiling a list of those descended from my ancestor – likely an abbreviated list based on geographic, age, sex or any other relevant factor – before eliminating other family members based on geography, age, sex or any other relevant considerations.
Law enforcement who hire a genealogist are likely dedicated to finding me for some time now, with several suspects or clues as possible culprits in mind.
They could then compare existing clues to narrow their search down to one or two people; if one or both is me, they are definitely on their case!
Oh boy – am I glad I’ve taken care to stay out of trouble!
#2 Law enforcement can gain information about you or your relatives even if they choose not to share their DNA, with limited effort using distant relatives’ DNA to find you and them.
Why? Simply because your DNA doesn’t solely belong to you; rather it consists of small segments inherited from numerous ancestors who contributed their genetic material as part of its makeup.
These ancestors each had descendants, many of which share DNA fragments with you. To simplify this complex topic, imagine that you could assemble your entire genome (or at least most of it!) from DNA segments from living close and distant relatives.
Therefore, even if you opt not to undergo a DNA test yourself, your siblings, parents, children, nephews, cousins or aunts could still do so voluntarily.
All these relatives share a substantial percentage of DNA with us and could prove invaluable in helping law enforcement track down criminal third cousins twice-removed or those attempting to identify Jane Doe volunteers in their searches for identity.
Even distant cousins can share large portions of DNA, and if enough distant relatives have undergone testing, an expert in DNA can reveal more information than we ever imagined possible about each person involved.
My DNA in a database allows me to better learn about my ancestors, create my family tree and help my adopted cousins – benefits far outweighing any concerns I might have over having it there – particularly considering that more than two dozen members of my close and known extended family have also undergone tests.
If a member of my extended family decided to commit an unspeakably terrible act and law enforcement used DNA analysis, there will likely be plenty of information out there about my family – I won’t be able to stop anything by abandoning my hobby.
As I recall reading on a blog comment a few months back: “Now that the toothpaste is out of its tube, use it.”
Just an observation!
#3 The “greater good” can outweigh individual DNA privacy concerns
Most would agree that it’s good news when criminals are caught, and while I cannot speak for the victims themselves or their close ones, it would surprise me if any took issue with any methods used during investigations.
People who uploaded their DNA samples to Gedmatch should know, or at least should expect, that their information would be used by distant relatives or professional genealogists to create family trees – including law enforcement authorities who built one for a killer using information we could also obtain by uploading our own samples to Gedmatch.
Law enforcement officials have used similar strategies to those described here to capture many criminals, making our families safer by keeping dangerous individuals off of the streets and off our homes.
Volunteer groups exist that offer their services to law enforcement to identify John and Jane Does, helping bring peace to many families who may have lost someone close.
As humans, we trade privacy for security all of the time – DNA is no different. There may be times when making small concessions on privacy is appropriate to ensure we live in a safer society – something which occurs regularly elsewhere in life.
So as to enjoy driving a vehicle freely, we must register as drivers with a government database – the idea being that licensed drivers are safer.
Some states even fingerprint individuals applying for driver’s licenses, while all collect personal data about their drivers.
Here are additional examples of privacy concessions made in exchange for safety:
As passengers boarding an airplane, we consent to being personally searched; when visiting our doctor we give detailed and personal answers so they can provide accurate care for us and our families.
How to Keep Your DNA Information Private
Our lives leave traces on the internet, but when it comes to our DNA it’s especially crucial that we remain mindful of what information is revealed online about us and our family members’ DNA (whether they realize it or not!). This responsibility falls squarely upon our shoulders!
Though I do not think we should worry unduly about DNA privacy or abandon genetic genealogy altogether, I do believe it would be wise to take some precautions.
Below are a few ideas for managing the information available about you on genealogy websites:
Create an alias email address specifically to communicate with DNA matches, and use this e-mail for every DNA website that you visit. Assure that no living relatives appear on family tree websites.
If privacy is of particular concern, make sure that all of your family tree data is set as private (not publicly viewable).
Check each DNA website carefully for privacy settings and policies, especially if they require you to upload your DNA. If they do not disclose what their plans are with regards to your DNA, consider asking.
If a website doesn’t offer answers that help, carefully consider both its risks and any possible benefits of using their service to learn information from. In the end, it’s up to you.
Do not post information such as your Gedmatch kit # on public forums, Facebook groups or other social media platforms unless it is necessary – such as sending it in an e-mail message to individuals directly.
Just Google yourself to see what information about yourself is out there and remember that anyone with an interest in knowing more about you (for instance an adopted family member or someone trying to figure out their relationship with you) could potentially use Google to do research about you – often with good intentions in mind and wanting only to discover who they may be related to.
Google yourself regularly to assess what information exists online about yourself, and adjust any necessary privacy settings as necessary.
Conclusion My hope is that this post shed some light on how law enforcement uses DNA information. Furthermore, it should help you evaluate whether you feel comfortable with your DNA being utilized this way.
As I know many of my readers will have strong feelings on this issue, I encourage them to voice them here in our discussion below. Please keep the dialogue friendly – everyone benefits more when debate remains civilized!
Should you have any inquiries, I welcome hearing from you and would love to discuss them further!
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