RCCS Annual Review
5 (2013)
Issue no. 5
................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Helena Machado and Susana Costa
Biolegality, the Forensic Imaginary and
Criminal Investigation
................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
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RCCS Annual Review, 5, October 2013: 84-105
Helena Machado
University of Minho, Portugal
Susana Costa
Center for Social Studies, University of Coimbra, Portugal
Biolegality, the Forensic Imaginary and Criminal Investigation*
This text discusses some aspects of the local configurations of social representations and uses
of DNA technology in criminal investigations in Portugal. The approach to the sociotechnical
network which aligns forensic science with state governance policies, criminal investigation
practices and laws, and the cultural imaginaries surrounding DNA and criminal investigation
work is based on the concepts of biolegality and the forensic imaginary, which are, in turn,
anchored in notions of biocitizenship and bioidentification, respectively. An interpretative and
qualitative theoretical-methodological perspective has been adopted, based on an analysis of
legislation and an understanding of the meanings and relevance attributed to the use of DNA
technology by members of the Portuguese Criminal Police. The objective is to discuss aspects
of the local tensions created by processes involving the export of DNA technology, which has
its origins in societies and cultures with different traditions of technology governance,
regulation of criminal investigation procedures and submission of evidence in court.
Keywords: database; biolegality; forensic imaginary; criminal investigation; DNA technology.
Introduction
Police criminal investigation work and the creation and expansion of genetic databases for
forensic purposes are based on a sociotechnical network which aligns forensic science with
state governance policies, laws and criminal investigation practices, fuelling cultural
imaginaries that combine a belief in the infallibility of the use of DNA technology to identify
criminals with the promise of effectively fighting crime. It involves the coproduction of
criminal justice and technoscience – an idio
calculation
Latou ,
(Jasanoff, 2004) – that produces
e t es of
that have effects on both the practices of actors working within
the justice system – the courts, police and forensic experts – and the governmentality of the
bodies and identities of those subjected to the collection, classification, storage and
management of information (Machado et al., 2010).
* Article published in RCCS 97 (June 2012).
Based on research supported by the Foundation for Science and Technology (Ministry of Science, Technology
and Higher Education) and developed at the Center for Social Studies, University of Coimbra, as part of the
follo i g p oje ts: Fo e si DNA data asi g i Po tugal – contemporary issues in ethics, practices and policy
(FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-009231), coordinated by Helena Machado; a d DNA a d i i al i estigatio – a
o pa ati e so iologi al a al sis of de elop e t a d i pa t i Po tugal a d the U ited Ki gdo ,
coordinated by Susana Costa (SFRH/BPD/63806/2009).
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RCCS Annual Review, 5, October 2013
Biolegality, the Forensic Imaginary and Criminal Investigation
In this text we discuss certain local outlines and configurations created by the use of DNA
technology in criminal investigation work in Portugal. Our approach is based on an analysis
of the law that created and regulates the operations of a DNA database for forensic
purposes and of the law that establishes the principles for the organisation of criminal
investigation work, as well as on an interpretation of the meanings attributed by officers of
the Polícia Judiciária (Criminal Investigation Police) to the use of DNA technology in criminal
investigation practices in Portugal. In the first section we present a summary of the
theoretical debate on the relationship between criminal justice and biotechnology, on the
asis of o epts of iolegalit a d the fo e si i agi a , which are, in turn, based on the
ideas of biocitizenship and bioidentification, respectively. In the second section we discuss
certain local outlines and configurations created by the use of DNA technology in criminal
investigation work in Portugal. Based on an analysis of legislation and interviews held with
members of the Criminal Investigation Police,1 we analyse some of the local tensions created
by the export of DNA technology to societies and cultures with different histories of
technology governance, regulation of criminal investigation practices and submission of
evidence in court. We also argue that the contingencies associated with the use of DNA
technology in criminal investigation work in Portugal can have an impact on public
confidence in the criminal justice system.
Biolegality and the forensic imaginary
The concept of biolegality, a term proposed by Lynch and McNally (2009) to refer to the
coproduction of biotechnology and legislation within the context of criminal justice, entails
two main elements: on the one hand it refers to interactions between law and science,
resulting in attempts to make genetics conform to the needs and constraints of the judicial
legal system; on the other hand, it broadens the debate on forms of biocitizenship by
extending the discussion on new configurations of identity and citizenship to the application
of genetics in criminal investigation work – in other words, to suspect identities associated
1
The interviews result from ongoing research conducted by Susana Costa, involving actors from the different
national criminal police bodies. The interviewees were selected on the basis of one fundamental criterion: all
potential participants had to have had previous professional experience that provided them with specialist
knowledge of the field of criminal investigation in Portugal. This article focuses on a group of six interviews held
in 2011 with members of the Criminal Investigation Police.
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Biolegality, the Forensic Imaginary and Criminal Investigation
with individuals or groups identified as having a high risk of committing crime, who should
be watched and investigated.
The theoretical debate on biocitizenship has centred on emerging forms of citizenship
anchored in concepts of health and biology (Rose, 2007), and one of the most widely
discussed topics concerns the transformation of bodies and identities through technological
applications and medical knowledge. The application of new genetic technologies constructs
new individual and collective identities – techno-scientific identities
‘a i o ,
–
which are generating new biosocialities – new modes of social relationships deeply linked
to living with such identities Cla ke et al., 2009: 23). Recent literature on the new identities
and new forms of citizenship resulting from the application of genetic technologies has
focused mainly on medical identities associated with healthy and sick individuals/groups at
risk and on civic identities based on social movements which defend the rights of patients
and families facing problems of a medical and genetic nature (Akrich et al., 2008; Atkinson et
al., 2007; Gibbon & Novas, 2008).
Biolegality extends the theoretical debate and the empirical application of the idea of
biocitizenship to the context of government policies designed to fight and deter crime by
strict surveillance of suspect bodies – o
hat
a
e alled genetic suspects Hi d a s h
and Prainsack, 2010). In this sense, and in the words of Lynch and McNally, instead of
p odu i g at isk medical identities, biolegality produces isk suspe ts, pre-suspects and
statistical suspects
L
h and McNally, 2009: 284). Suspect identities therefore emerge
from both criminal investigation practices and genetic expertise in the development and use
of DNA databases for forensic purposes. Yet they are also constructed by the subjects
themselves who are the targets for the collection of biological samples and whose profiles
are included in increasingly complex technological systems for computerising and
systematising genetic information which may be cross-referenced with other types of
information of interest to the police (their biography or criminal career , criminal records,
fingerprints, photographs, etc.) (Prainsack and Kitzberger, 2009; Machado et al., 2011a).
Identification created by the DNA profile produces the illusion of certainty, the removal of
doubt and the perception of the infallibility of technology, minimising any ambiguities and
practically eliminating the possibility of doubt and uncertainty (Aas, 2006: 150), the key
elements which fuel the so-called forensic imaginary associated with the construction of
DNA profile databases.
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RCCS Annual Review, 5, October 2013
Biolegality, the Forensic Imaginary and Criminal Investigation
According to Williams (2010), this forensic imaginary combines two central ideas, namely
that biology and genetics are sciences that can efficiently identify individuals, thus making
them central to crime scene analysis – i.e. bioidentification – and that the growing use of
DNA profiles will improve the efficiency of criminal investigation and thus prevent and deter
crime.
Various authors have discussed the role of bioidentification – or identification via the
body, including identification from DNA profiles but also dactyloscopy (identification from
fingerprints) and anthropometry (identification using physical measurements of the human
body) used in various countries throughout the world including Portugal in the 19 th century
(Cole, 2002) – as an integral feature of the development of the modern state apparatus (Cole
& Lynch, 2006; Garland, 2001; Lyon, 2001). In this way, the criminal s career becomes visible
to the state and potentially dangerous bodies are more easily controlled: a link is created
between a particular (unique, identified and individualised) body and a state archive
(databases of criminal records, fingerprints and, more recently, DNA profiles). This is a
credible link for scientists, bureaucrats and judicial actors, as well as the general public
(Cole, 2002), and is connected with political and social processes that legitimise the
scientifization of police work in conjunction with the creation and expansion of databases
containing genetic information for the purposes of criminal investigation.
The forensic imaginary therefore represents what some authors have called the imaginary
of the truth machine
L
h et al., 2008), which, to a great extent, is fed by the cultural
messages transmitted by the media. There is a vast amount of literature nowadays on the
so-called CSI effect, a reference to the famous television series Crime Scene Investigation,
whose structure and narrative logic appear to promote public perceptions of forensic
science, particularly DNA technology, as a kind of super science” which is absolutely
infallible in combating crime. The CSI effect was originally used to assess allegedly distorted
perceptions of forensic science by jurors in real-life trials, which would supposedly translate
into an emphasis on the assessment and valuation of DNA evidence (for a summary of the
debate, see Cole and Dioso-Villa, 2007).
Due to its credible mixture of elements that are both fictional and based on real-life
forensic science procedures in criminal investigation work supported by advanced
technologies (Deutsch & Cavender, 2008; Durnal, 2010), CSI constitutes a cultural
performance that creates myths around wishful-thinking science (Kruse, 2010: 88). It is
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RCCS Annual Review, 5, October 2013
Biolegality, the Forensic Imaginary and Criminal Investigation
therefore likely that, on the basis of these narratives, the public may construct an imaginary
of forensic science, identification technologies using DNA profiles and the investigators
themselves, which, although based on the apparent authenticity of certain techniques,
ignores the contingencies of their application in the real world of criminal investigation and
laboratory analysis.
This text analyses certain configurations of the tensions between biolegality and the
forensic imaginary created by the legal and regulatory circumstances of criminal
investigation and the biopolitical process of creating a database of DNA profiles for forensic
purposes. The discrepancies between the collective imaginaries concerning the efficiency of
DNA technology in identifying criminals and the local realities of the legislation which
regulates both the operations of the DNA database used for criminal investigation and the
organisational structure of crime investigation, judicial cultures and police practices in this
area clearly illustrate the tensions created by the process of exporting DNA technology to
societies and cultures that have very different histories of technology governance and ways
of building public trust from the societies and cultures in which they originated. It should be
emphasised that the use of DNA technology in the criminal justice system has its origins in
England and the USA, both countries that have adversarial justice systems (Lazer, 2004).
Thus the incorporation of DNA as scientific evidence in inquisitorial justice systems such as
the Portuguese may create additional complexities which have not yet been fully discussed
(Toom, 2010).
Criminal investigation and DNA databases in Portugal
In central countries which have served as the model for establishing DNA databases, such as
the United Kingdom and the United States of America, there is a clear emphasis on the role
of the scientifization and professionalization of the police through the use of genetics in
criminal investigation (Cole, 2002; Nuffield Council, 2007; Williams, 2003; Williams et al.,
2004). However, this is not the case in countries such as Portugal, where various factors
combine to restrict and subordinate police investigation work to legislation: the work of the
police in gathering biological samples from crime suspects is dependent on an order issued
by a judge; the constraints established by Law 49/2008 of 27 August (Law on the
Organisation of Criminal Investigation) increase the grey areas of crime scene management;
and investment in human and technological resources for police work is insufficient (Costa,
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Biolegality, the Forensic Imaginary and Criminal Investigation
2003; Machado and Santos, 2012). We will begin with a brief analysis of the legal
instruments which regulate the creation of the DNA database for civil and criminal
identification purposes and the organisation of criminal investigation work.
In 2004, the legal system for medical-legal and forensic reports was established under
Law 45/2004, limiting them to the Instituto Nacional de Medicina Legal (National Institute of
Legal Medicine – INML) – a state institution directly supervised by the Ministry of Justice –
and its branches. Only in exceptional cases, when it is clearly impossible for the INML to
provide the service, can they be produced by third parties contracted or recommended by
the Institute (Article 2.2 of Law 45/2004). The central role of the INML in producing forensic
reports was reinforced in 2008 by Law 5/2008, which created a DNA database for civil and
criminal identification purposes: the body responsible for the database and all its operations
was the INML (Article 16.1 of Law 5/2008).
Law 5/2008 contains a range of provisions that attribute control and decision-making
powers concerning the creation of DNA databases to judges, who are responsible for
ordering the collection of samples (Article 8.2 of Law 5/2008) and the inclusion of profiles
(Article 18.3 of Law 5/2008). The inquisitorial tradition2 influenced the legislative choices, as
is the case in other countries where judges and public prosecutors play a more important
role in the creation of databases, for example, by assuming responsibility for the inclusion
and removal of profiles, as in Germany, Belgium, Spain, France, Holland, Italy, Latvia and
Luxembourg (Machado et al., 2011b).
In addition to the legal restrictions on the process of collecting biological samples from
individuals suspected of criminal activity, police criminal investigation work in Portugal also
faces restrictions regarding the procedure for communicating the results of the analysis by
the body which has the custody of the database, the INML, which can convey them only to
the judge who, in turn, communicates this information to the Pu li P ose uto s Offi e or
the criminal investigation bodies, if s/he deems it necessary and when it has been duly
requested (Article 19.1 a) and b) of Law 5/2008). Police access to genetic information during
2
In the inquisitorial tradition, the judge plays a leading role in conducting the trial and assessing the evidence,
heading the examination and deciding which evidence is admissible. The fundamental difference is that
whereas the adversarial system offers scope for confronting two versions of the facts in order to resolve the
case, the ole of the ou t i the i uisito ial s ste is to dete i e the t uth Too ,
. I the
conclusions to this text the main differences between the inquisitorial and adversarial systems will be discussed
in detail in order to provide a perspective on the respective impacts of the two different systems in terms of
the admission and assessment of evidence, specifically with regard to the submission of DNA evidence in
courts.
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Biolegality, the Forensic Imaginary and Criminal Investigation
the course of criminal investigations is therefore very restricted, hierarchical and
bureaucratic.
These restrictions on police work are also heightened by the hierarchical organisation of
criminal investigation work, regulated by Law 49/2008 of 27 August, which, although
directed by the judicial authority (Article 2.1 of Law 49/2008), is also assisted by the criminal
police bodies: the Polícia Judiciária (PJ – Criminal Investigation Police), 3 Polícia de Segurança
Pública (PSP – Public Security Police) and the Guarda Nacional Republicana (GNR – National
Republican Guard)4 (Article 2.2 and 2.3 of Law 49/2008), with the PJ being supported in its
investigations by the Laboratory of the Criminal Investigation Police and the PSP by the
Unidade de Polícia Técnica (UPT – Technical Police Unit).
The forensic imaginary of the infallibility and efficiency of DNA technology is based on
judicial and criminal investigation practices and cultures in countries which not only have
significantly expanded the genetic databases used to investigate and combat crime (due to
an almost total absence of restrictions on the inclusion and retention of profiles), but have
also conferred broad powers on the police with regard to the process of collecting and
analysing samples and obtaining access to information. For example, whereas in Portugal
biological samples can only be collected from formal suspects and those convicted of
premeditated crimes involving an effective prison sentence of 3 years or more, following an
order issued by a judge (Article 8 of Law 5/2008), in England and Wales the police may
collect biological samples from anyone under arrest and the profiles are retained
indefinitely.
As previously stated, the differences concerning the countries that have provided the
model for investing in and developing the applications of DNA technology within criminal
investigation work create local tensions that may even reinforce images of the inefficiency of
the Portuguese police (Machado and Santos, 2009a; Machado and Santos, 2009b). This can
be seen by comparing the police investigation procedures and the ways of accessing and
using genetic information in crime investigations that can be found today in Portugal –
involving a genetic database that is still in its early stages, with many restrictions on its
3
The PJ is supervised by the Ministry of Justice (MJ).
The Polícia de Segurança Pública (PSP) has the primary function of safeguarding internal security and
protecting the rights of citizens. The Guarda Nacional Republicana (GNR) is militar in nature but is primarily
involved in neighbourhood police work, intervening in areas such as domestic violence and the protection of
nature and the environment. Both PSP and GNR are supervised by the Home Office (MAI).
4
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Biolegality, the Forensic Imaginary and Criminal Investigation
expansion and very limited police access – and the situation in England, for example – the
country which has the oldest DNA database in the world (created in 1995) and which has
pioneered the uses of DNA technology in criminal investigation work.
The scientifization of police work and local contingencies
The legitimation of police criminal investigation work has resulted, to a large extent, from
what may be termed the scientifization of police work, supported by the growing use of
technology in procedures to secure the crime scene and collect and analyse traces,
combined with one of the foundation stones of the forensic imaginary, namely the need to
use advanced technologies to increase the speed and efficiency of criminal investigation
work (Lynch et al., 2008; Williams and Johnson, 2008).
A substantial part of the technologies that support this police work is based on the
development and expansion of modern systems for human identification and classification
of individuals on the basis of biological characteristics, such as fingerprints and DNA
databases. As Caplan and Torpey state, the history of criminal investigation has been defined
by repeated efforts to rationalize and standardize practices of identification and the
systems for the storage and retrieval of the expanding documentation that this generated
(Caplan and Torpey, 2001: 9).
Within the range of technological resources applied to criminal investigation, the
collection of traces from crime scenes and of biological samples from suspects and formal
suspects stand out nowadays. These can be compared with the existing biological material
or genetic profiles in police archives or forensic databases, and the use of the latter is
increasing significantly throughout the world (Hindmarsh and Prainsack, 2010). Police
criminal investigation work supported by DNA technology is an illustration of the way in
which technology can act as a centripetal force that gathers, organises and holds together a
wide range of social, political, technological, human and non-human elements (Latour,
1987), creating what Michel Callon has termed an actor network to describe a set of
heterogeneous elements linked by a technological network which could at any moment
redefine their identity and mutual relationships in some new way and bring new elements
into the network Callo ,
:
.
Applying this idea to the uses of DNA technology in criminal investigation work, it may be
established that the human social actors consist of the crime investigators, forensic experts,
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RCCS Annual Review, 5, October 2013
Biolegality, the Forensic Imaginary and Criminal Investigation
perpetrators of crimes and the courts, whilst the non-human set of actors includes DNA
identification technology and other technologies used in criminology such as lophoscopy,
dactyloscopy or ballistics. Non-human social actors may also include the entire range of
items and traces left at the crime scene, 5 the so-called silent witnesses or dumb
witnesses to the criminal act, of which the perpetrator may have inadvertently left a
potentially incriminating trail (footprints, fingerprints, fibres of fabric, hair, blood, semen,
etc.).
Within this context, in the following sections we will analyse representations of the role
of DNA technology and the constraints on police work that result, according to the actors
interviewed, from the disparity between the tensions created by the forensic imaginary –
the idea, widely disseminated both by the media and by the political powers and some
fringes of the forensic expert community, that the growing use of DNA profiles will improve
the efficiency of criminal investigation – and the constraints created locally, both in the field
(in crime scene management) and through legislation.
Crime scene management and DNA database assessment
The site where a crime takes place requires the intervention of criminal police investigation
bodies (OPCs) to recover any traces left there. As a rule, crimes of a sexual nature and
homicides demand the most exacting type of work in which the use of DNA technology may
be more necessary, although this does not invalidate the use of other techniques to gather
traces, such as fingerprinting.
Portuguese law establishes that the first step to be taken by the police after a crime is
reported is to inform the Pu li P ose uto s Office (Article 248 of the Code of Criminal
Procedure – cf. Castelo & Pereira, 2007).6 However, even before receiving orders from the
5
Criminalistics, a science whose aim is to identify extrinsic objects relating to crimes and criminal identification,
is t aditio all des i ed as the s ie e of i di idualizatio
Ki k,
. Fo e si s ie e akes a disti tio
between identification and individualization. Whereas individualization signifies the possibility of defining a
unique source as the origin of a trace taken from a crime scene from a range of other possible sources,
identification only narrows down the potential source of origin to a group or class of objects (Cole and DiosoVilla,
: , to the e te t that it is the p o ess of esta lishi g the identity of an individual, this being a
g oup of featu es hi h i di idualize hi
Pi hei o,
:
. A e episte olog of fo e si ide tifi atio
Cole,
o lai s that it is i possi le to a hie e pe fe t i di idualizatio , a d so o e should speak in
terms of probabilities rather than certainties (Saks and Koehler, 2005). In the case of forensic genetics, DNA
only allows for identification and not individualization (Amorim, 2012).
6
It is the responsibility of criminal police bodies, even on their own initiative, to gather information about
crimes and as far as possible prevent their consequences, discover the perpetrators and execute the necessary
and urgent measures required to safeguard evidence.
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appropriate judicial authority, OPCs may proceed with the necessary and urgent measures
required to secure evidence, and continue after the intervention of the Public P ose uto s
Office to recover new evidence (Article 249.1 & 3, respectively – cf. Castelo & Pereira, 2007).
As set out in Article 7 of Law 49/2008, crimes involving homicide and sexual aggression
are, in particular, the responsibility of the Polícia Judiciária, assisted by the Laboratory of the
Criminal Investigation Police. The technical police unit working with the PSP or the GNR is, in
turn, responsible for carrying out the necessary investigations with a view to producing
material evidence of a crime, such as an inspection of the area, preservation of any traces
found, preservation of the crime scene, securing the area and denying access to outsiders,
searches, the questioning of witnesses in order to determine what took place and, in certain
circumstances, the collection and removal of traces, together with an identification of the
crime scene, either in the form of a written description or with the additional use of audio
and video equipment to assist in the process. Thus, given the nature of its responsibilities
and the human, material, technical and scientific instruments at its disposal, the Laboratory
of the Criminal Investigation Police assumes a rearguard position, stepping in after another
criminal investigation body has carried out the initial investigations (Article 3.4 a) and b) of
Law 49/2008).
However, what the law establishes is based on the assumption that all OPCs are capable
of intervening swiftly and efficiently at the crime scene, not only complying with the
principle of the immediacy and urgency of the actions (Braz, 2010: 36), but also the principle
that the first police body to be informed of the crime should be the one to proceed to the
scene and carry out the initial investigations, with a view to preserving the crime scene and
executing the initial protective measures which are so important to the future investigation.
The initial phase, known as the judicial inspection, implies careful analysis of the crime
scene in order to gather physical and witness evidence. It is a crucial stage and, above all,
important to the strategic planning of subsequent interventions and to determining who is
responsible for the management of the crime scene. In fact, the existence of a golden
hour 7 associated with the crime scene is reflected in all the subsequent phases of the
criminal investigation. Originating in work developed by English police bodies, as some of
our interviewees reported, it is based on the idea that the first hours of investigation
following a crime are crucial to discovering the truth or finding the key to the enigma.
7
This English expression was used several times by the interviewees.
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RCCS Annual Review, 5, October 2013
Biolegality, the Forensic Imaginary and Criminal Investigation
Consequently, in a specific crime scenario, the faster the police intervene, the greater the
chances are of police officers providing an accurate description of what they have found
there, making it necessary to intervene as quickly as possible and preserve as much of the
scene as possible, keeping it close to the original scene at the time when the crime took
place.
The period of judicial inspection which precedes the more technical and specialised
criminal investigation work may therefore be considered a crucial phase for solving the
puzzle. However, it is perhaps the most vulnerable phase in the entire process, since a
i e s e e is also a
o ple , precarious and fragile site (Braz, 2010: 212) that can easily
be destroyed and may be damaged by external factors (weather conditions), human factors
(contamination), incorrect procedures, and a lack of appropriate human and material
resources, among other elements.
According to the interviewees, the discrepancies between the different OPCs, whether in
terms of human resources or their level of specialisation and training, are well known, and
different kinds of knowledge and practices amongst the police forces intervening in crime
scenes are also evident. As one interviewee stated, weakness in the training of members of
other police forces may compromise the success of criminal investigation work:
Some members of other police forces are not very aware of what has to be done. So, until the
Polícia Judiciária arrive on the scene what happens is that the other police have to preserve
the area. They do it much better and more thoroughly now than they used to a few years ago!
The e s o o pa iso ! But e e so, a e e ause the e ee poo l t ai ed […] despite
good i te tio s, it s ot do e p ope l […]. And this is one of the difficulties we face.
As previously stated, the police officers who arrive first at the crime scene – usually the
GNR or PSP – are responsible for carrying out the initial investigations, later assisted by the
specialist police forces. 8 On the basis of the information which these first actors
communicate to the other entities, the crime can be classified, and according to this
classification, the following can be decided: Who is responsible for managing the crime
scene? Who coordinates the operations? Who directs them? Who authorises the actions to
be taken? What type of intervention and technical instruments are required? Which
operational agents should be dispatched to the scene? Who carries out the work?
8
As stated i A ti le
. of the Code of C i i al P o edu e, If the judi ial autho it o app op iate i i al
police body is not present at the scene, it is the responsibility of any law enforcement officer to provisionally
carry out the measures referred to in Point 2 if the obtaining of evidence is otherwise threatened f. Castelo
& Pereira, 2007).
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Biolegality, the Forensic Imaginary and Criminal Investigation
According to one of the interviewees, the ambiguities in the law and the difficulties in
producing a correct classification of the crime in the field, which would enable decisions to
be made on responsibilities for managing the investigation, create difficulties in
operationalizing poli e o k a d, i his o ds, we can still see that a lot of things are made
impossible because of bad management of the [crime] scene. The same interviewee added
that it is sometimes difficult to define who is responsible for collecting samples in a given
context: [W]hen a crime occurs at a certain location, anything that has to do with a place,
with an event, the first problem to sort out is knowing which police body is responsible for
dealing with it. He went on to emphasise the conflicts9 which these grey areas create in
terms of fieldwork:10
Sometimes there are battles over responsibilities [...] and sometimes the reason why things
happen and the perception of why [the police forces] failed in the field [...] is not fully
explored. For example, the question of stolen vehicles: without question, this is the
responsibility of the GNR, but very often the vehicle becomes the responsibility of the PJ […]
when it s a matter of vehicle trafficking and falsification. [...] The crimes that take place [that
are the responsibility of the PJ] do t al a s o e lea ly labelled... 11
One factor that may create additional contingencies for criminal investigation concerns
precisely the fact that initially it is not always possible to identify the type of crime in
question.
The same interviewee also adds that, in his opinion, the other police do not have the
specialist technical training or material resources to package the material gathered from
crime scenes or, even if they do, they frequently misuse this material.
[…] o ada s the ule fo correct packaging stipulates a set of sample bags for each of the
items depe di g o t pe a d size, follo i g t o p i iples […]: fi st, a thi g organic is put in
[…] a pape ag a d a thi g olatile i a he eti all sealed ag. In practice, we sometimes
get exactly the opposite!
9
A ti le of La
/
states that if t o o o e i i al poli e odies o side that the a e ot ualified
for investigating the same crime, the conflict shall be decided by the appropriate judicial authority at each
stage of the p o ess.
10
A ti le . of La
/
stipulates that the i i al poli e odies o k o the ase u de , a d a e
functionally dependent on, the appropriate judicial authority, without prejudice of the judicial organisation in
uestio . Ho e e , A ti le . states that the Pu li P ose uto a allo ate the i estigatio of a i e […]
to another criminal police body provided that it is, in concrete terms, more suited to carrying out the work and
spe ifi all
he : […] d The i estigatio does ot e ui e pa ti ula o ilit o highl spe ialised te h i al
esou es.
11
Article 7 of Law 49/2008 on the competences of the Polícia Judiciária in criminal investigation lists the crimes
that are their responsibility.
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Another important issue related to the stance to be adopted by the other OPCs
involved in the judicial investigation should also be emphasised. Their involvement in the
scene may be more dynamic or more static, depending on the judgement of those actually
present in the field to make this decision. A dynamic attitude on the part of the OPCs who
assist in crime investigations presupposes that they limit themselves to the protective
measures that are strictly necessary to preserve the original crime scene, and this is also
valid for the members of the Polícia Judiciária who arrive at the crime scene whilst awaiting
officers with more specific technical skills. However, the simple fact that they have to carry
out the initial measures stipulated by law may, in itself, given the constraints in terms of
training and the technical and human resources available, lead to poorly executed
procedures. One of the ways of minimising potential errors is therefore to adopt a static
position:
The first thing to do at the crime scene [is] to put your hands in your pockets! Because we all
have a tendency to touch things, to see, and so the first response [is to] use your eyes and
look, make this the first step, understand what is going on […].
Therefore, according to the interviewee, if a static attitude presupposes immediately
safeguarding traces to prevent any risk of any important traces – usually the preserve of the
othe
i i al police forces (the GNR or PSP) – becoming damaged or spoiled, the truth is
that this may mean that those that should have been collected immediately may be lost.
Thus, officers with little training who opt for a dynamic attitude will fulfil their duty of
safeguarding the crime scene and the traces left there. However, since this is carried out by
officers who, in general, have neither the appropriate qualifications to do the work properly
nor the necessary resources to ensure proper collection, it may irremediably ruin the
evidence left by criminals.
When these local officers arrive at the crime scene, aware that they are not empowered
to act and that they should wait for qualified personnel and resources, they may be
contributing towards ensuring that important traces are damaged by third parties by not
being collected in good time, i.e. within the golde hou that applies to all crime scenes. As
one of the interviewees stated, the importance of acting in good time does not only concern
the need for traces to be collected as quickly as possible to prevent any subsequent
contamination, but also ensuring that all the important traces are collected at the time,
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RCCS Annual Review, 5, October 2013
Biolegality, the Forensic Imaginary and Criminal Investigation
avoiding the need to return to the scene to collect new samples which will probably not be
in the same condition as the others.
[…] the English call this the golde hour, the need to get to work as soon as the crime is
reported, not only to collect traces but to get the perpetrator, because he could be escaping,
etc., etc., and so we work … when a crime is reported … at 300 – not 200 – at 300 or 400 an
hour! In these circumstances, naturally, mistakes can be made because something or other
gets forgotten. The , atu all , it s up to the tea
a age e t to take espo si ilit , ight?
Whether one or another of these attitudes is adopted, there is, in fact, always a risk.
Consequently, one way of minimising this is to make a detailed record of all the steps taken
i di iduals app oa hi g the
assess e t of the
i e s e e, i.e.
oti g entrances and exits in the
i e s e e […], because we [police/technicians] also leave footprints
when we enter. This situation becomes one of the contingencies of the crime scene which
is practically impossible to avoid unless, as one of the interviewees stated, the agent acts like
a du
ith a fishi g od, conveying the idea that only being suspended above the
crime scene would minimise the possibility of technical staff contaminating the area, namely
by leaving footprints.
[…] there are no fishing rods but he [the police officer]12 has to arrive and cause as little
damage as possible to the scene he has to observe. But if he needs to go somewhere where he
has to lean on a door to get in or open up a room, he has to record this afterwards! He has to
say that the position of that door changed because of my entry, not because the offender
escaped or any other individual came in.
Another obstacle to successful criminal investigation work concerns the restrictive nature
of the legislation that regulates the creation and operations of the DNA database in Portugal.
As one of the interviewees said, the law was, above all, a political solution for avoiding
conflicts between different interests (forensic experts, the police and human rights activists),
indicating that one of its major weaknesses is the fact that the inclusion of profiles is
dependent on a decision made by a judge:
I hear complaints from all sides. [...] I the e d, it s a ad la [...] ou a t lea e it up to a
judge to decide hethe a p ofile should e i luded o ot, ou a t! It should be automatic
[...] it s the judgement of Solomon, to avoid any friction.
12
In referring to the police, this interviewee includes any of the forces that deal with the crime scene, whether
the PJ, GNR, PSP or even technical staff from the Laboratory of the Criminal Investigation Police (LPC) and the
Technical Police Unit (UPT) of the PSP. It may be said that this is a rule which everyone should follow as closely
as possible.
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Another interviewee referred to the limitations created by the restrictive nature of the
DNA database, namely the fact that it is obligatory to eliminate profiles at the end of the
case or the maximum limitation period for criminal proceedings stipulated in the Code of
Criminal Procedure:
I think that there is this excessive guaranteeism regarding certain issues that are perhaps out
of place. Such as the question of retaining profiles […] criminal records have a very short
lifespan nowadays! If we had rules like this for fingerprint [databases], our database would be
practically useless!
The need for an efficient DNA database is also stressed in the following extract, in which
the interviewee argues that DNA profiles should not be removed from the database and
criticises the need for the intervention of a judge for data to be communicated to criminal
investigation bodies:
The profiles should be retained indefinitely [in the DNA database]. But the law reflects a
political will, and I do think it s a miracle that we finally have a law [on the DNA database]. But
the efficiency of the database is going to be greatly reduced by Article 913 [...]. The red tape will
be endless.
The interviewees strongly criticised the inefficiency of the DNA database because it made
the retrospective use of information that could have been obtained by retaining profiles
impossible as a basis for comparison with biological material collected from a crime scene:
A micro-database, a pseudo-database which, in essence, o t tell e a thi g o e tha the
fact that the i di iduals ho a e i it e e i i als […] What I really want is a database
constructed in such a way that it can tell you who someone is from a biological trace found at
the crime scene.
These discourses clearly illustrate the tensions created by legislation which, on the one
hand, is framed by a legal culture that subordinates the role of the police to judicial
authority but, on the other hand, reversed the logic behind the functioning of the DNA
database, favouring the power of forensic science. As one of our interviewees stated,
The use of DNA in criminal investigation work has been subordinated to the interests of
scientific research. Without denying the merits of research, I would say that it is an unduly
lengthy process that is directed more towards scientific discovery. This rationale does not
serve the interests of the police and criminal investigation: we have to have responses in good
time.
13
Article 19.1 of Law 5/2008, mentioned by the interviewee, establishes the following: a) Data is sent from the
INML to the appropriate judge according to the type or stage in the proceedings, and following a duly justified
request; b) The judge referred to in the previous point communicates the said data, when considered necessary
o upo dul justified e uest, to the Pu li P ose uto s Offi e o i i al poli e odies, p o idi g a de isio
by reasoned order.
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One of the fundamental premises for the success of a DNA database for purposes of
criminal investigation is the possibility of increasing the amount of information gathered by
extending the criteria for the inclusion of profiles and their non-removal (McCartney, 2006:
55-57). The genetic suspect referred to earlier derives from the retrospective use of genetic
information, and features as a pillar of biolegality and the forensic imaginary. In the light of
these interviews, it may be said that the main elements in the political message of the
efficiency and infallibility of DNA technology in identifying criminals and combating and
deterring crime would appear to be compromised.
Conclusion
The models for criminal investigation police work and the use of DNA technology to identify
individuals that prevail in the collective imaginary – both in government discourse and in the
cultural messages conveyed by the media – reproduce, with a greater or lesser degree of
truth, criminal investigation practices in countries such as England or the USA that are based
on the following: (1) the existence of very extensive DNA databases and broad police powers
with regard to the collection and analysis of genetic information; (2) material and scientific
resources which provide materials and technical guidelines for the collection of material
from crime scenes in accordance with scientific procedures that do not compromise the
chain of custody; (3) organisational cultures that clearly establish the principles, routines and
practical actions relating to criminal investigation procedures, through which the materials
destined for laboratory work and the results of scientific analysis subjected to peer scrutiny
and auditing are produced (Williams and Johnson, 2008: 6-7).
The interviews reveal the position of the Polícia Judiciária within the sociotechnical
network created by the uses of DNA technology in criminal investigation. The results show
how this network involves heterogeneous elements, social actors who occupy different
positions in social relationships involving power and the legitimation of expert knowledge.
Actors invested with different capacities to use genetic information in criminal investigation
are confronted, on the one hand, with the symbolic subordination of law to forensic science,
which appears to characterise the regulatory culture of Portuguese society (Santos, 2002)
and, on the other hand, the hierarchical and operational subordination of the police to the
judicial authority assisted by forensic science (Machado, 2011).
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As concluded by Costa (2003), there are tensions between laboratory work involving the
analysis of materials collected from crime scenes, which seeks to harmonise with
international forensic science procedures, and specific local features produced by the
Portuguese legal system. At the same time, criminal investigation work supported by DNA
technology appears to clearly illustrate the variety of ways of incorporating science and
technology derived from specific national and local features. The contingencies associated
with criminal investigation in Portugal reveal a complex interconnection of knowledge and
practices, particularities of the legislation that not only regulate the organisation of police
work but also the creation and use of a DNA database for criminal identification. They are
indicative of an investment in the globalisation and harmonisation of procedures based on
the experiences of other countries, but nevertheless grounded in a legal, professional and
criminological culture with national and local features and particularities.
In short, the reality of criminal investigation work in Portugal appears far removed from
the models of biolegality and the forensic imaginary projected by countries that already
have wide-ranging experience of using DNA technology for three reasons: (1) the lack of
technical and scientific training for the PSP and GNR and of material resources to enable
these police forces to collect traces efficiently from crime scenes; (2) the ambiguity of the
law and the difficulties involved in applying it practically in terms of clearly defining
responsibilities for criminal investigation work; (3) legal restrictions on using and accessing
information stored in the DNA database supervised by the INML, and the lack of
operationality of this type of instrument to support criminal investigation work.
In addition to these factors, which explain the discrepancy between the Portuguese
situation and the model of biolegality and the forensic imaginary originating in countries that
have routinely used DNA technology for decades, there are also considerable differences in
terms of the functioning of the courts. The incorporation of DNA technology into criminal
investigation practices originated in the adversarial justice system, for example the American
or English system, whereas the Portuguese system is based on an inquisitorial regime. In
adversarial systems, the trial is the occasion for a confrontation between the representatives
of the state and the accused, in which the presentation and discussion of the evidence is
liable to be publicly deconstructed in court. This enables the soundness of the evidence to
be tested or, conversely, its weaknesses, any technical doubts, or even the possibility of a
breakdown in the chain of custody. Therefore the adversarial process may be characterised
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Biolegality, the Forensic Imaginary and Criminal Investigation
by attempts to discredit evidence submitted by the other party and by the triumph of one of
the versions presented to the court and jury (Cooper, 2004). It is p e isel this
s epti is
ai ed at de o st u ti g s ie tifi e ide e that a
egi e of
e see i the ad e sa ial
system (Toom, 2010: 176) which enables the defence and the prosecution to confront each
other, or even the discourse of the expert(s) (Jasanoff, 2006). The role of the judge in the
adversarial process is that of a passive and impartial arbitrator who is responsible for
defining the rules of the trial and the admissibility of the evidence that is presented. The
judge does not conduct the inquiry or prescribe measures for collecting evidence, and the
parties present autonomous arguments based on different versions of the facts.
In contrast, in inquisitorial legal systems, as is the case in Portugal and most countries in
Western Europe, the judge plays an active role as a fact finder , and rulings are based on
judicial inquiry and the search for the truth . In countries such as Portugal, the Public
Prosecutor bears the burden of proof and, even though the defence may request
counterproof and additional expert opinions, these have to be accepted by the judge. These
characteristics of the Portuguese justice system mean that the practice of admitting
counterproof in courts is rare (Costa, 2003; Costa et al., 2003) and may have two different
consequences: less use of DNA evidence in trials in Portugal (Machado and Prainsack, 2012:
ch. 3), and the creation of a scenario which favours perception of this technology as a truth
machine (Lynch et al., 2008) which is not contested due to the abovementioned restrictions
on the admission and assessment of counterproof.
Finally, it should be stated that popular representations of criminal investigation and the
justice system are frequently based on a comparison between real-life cases and the
imaginary projected by fictional representatives of the police, in which the use of
sophisticated technology, scientific methods and brilliant deductions can solve the most
complicated cases speedily and without error (Machado and Santos, 2012). As we have seen,
the narratives of fictional criminal investigation series, specifically the television series Crime
Scene Investigation (CSI), may create a disproportionate belief in the efficiency of criminal
investigation work supported by DNA identification technologies. In this sense, the creation
of unrealistic expectations may lead to an increase in negative assessments of the work of
the Portuguese police amongst the general public in Portugal, and thus reduce confidence in
the criminal justice system (Machado and Santos, 2012). In fact, real-life criminal cases
widely covered by the media in Portugal that remain unsolved – of which the case of the
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disappearance of Madeleine McCann is a prime example – may reinforce images of the
inefficiency of the Portuguese police that also coincide with negative representations of the
justice system in Portugal, which is seen as slow, inefficient and discriminatory.
Translated by Sheena Caldwell
Revised by the authors and Teresa Tavares
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