Biological Evidence Management for DNA Analysis in Cases of Sexual Assault

Biological evidence with forensic interest may be found in several cases of assault, being particularly relevant if sexually related. Sexual assault cases are characterized by low rates of disclosure, reporting, prosecution, and conviction. Biological evidence is sometimes the only way to prove the...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:TheScientificWorld 2015, Vol.2015 (2015), p.1-11
Main Authors: Corte-Real, Francisco, Silva, Benedita, Dinis-Oliveira, Ricardo Jorge, Magalhães, Teresa, Nuno Vieira, Duarte
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Collaboration
Colleges & universities
Criminal investigations
Deoxyribonucleic acid
DNA
DNA Contamination
Forensic Genetics - methods
Forensic Genetics - standards
Genetic aspects
Genetic screening
Genetics
Health sciences
Humans
Labeling
Laboratories
Laws, regulations and rules
Legal medicine
Medicine
Methods
Rape - diagnosis
Rape - legislation & jurisprudence
Review
Sequence Analysis, DNA - methods
Sequence Analysis, DNA - standards
Sex crimes
Sexual abuse
Sexual assault
Toxicology
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Biological evidence with forensic interest may be found in several cases of assault, being particularly relevant if sexually related. Sexual assault cases are characterized by low rates of disclosure, reporting, prosecution, and conviction. Biological evidence is sometimes the only way to prove the occurrence of sexual contact and to identify the perpetrator. The major focus of this review is to propose practical approaches and guidelines to help health, forensic, and law enforcement professionals to deal with biological evidence for DNA analysis. Attention should be devoted to avoiding contamination, degradation, and loss of biological evidence, as well as respecting specific measures to properly handle evidence (i.e., selection, collection, packing, sealing, labeling, storage, preservation, transport, and guarantee of the chain custody). Biological evidence must be carefully managed since the relevance of any finding in Forensic Genetics is determined, in the first instance, by the integrity and quantity of the samples submitted for analysis.
ISSN:2356-6140
1537-744X
1537-744X
DOI:10.1155/2015/365674