RCMP offers to retest evidence following critical auditor's report
1. Last Updated: Tuesday, May 8, 2007 | 9:54 PM ET
CBC News
RCMP headquarters has contacted police investigators across the country offering to retest evidence for the presence of DNA after the auditor general discovered problems at RCMP forensic labs, CBC News has learned.
"We sent 216 letters to investigators indicating that there was a potential problem with the isolation of DNA," John Bowen, director of RCMP biology services, said in an interview.
Last week, Auditor General Sheila Fraser said she uncovered a series of problems with RCMP forensics labs. One particular problem was that the automated systems used by RCMP labs to analyze DNA evidence were producing questionable results. The force says it wants to make sure those results haven't compromised investigations.
Only one investigator has requested a retest for two different cases involving violent crimes committed somewhere in the Prairies, the RCMP said. However, CBC News contacted 12 different municipal police services and found other investigators have concerns.
Insp. Blair White, of Calgary police's investigative support section, said if cases have been affected, the force will likely ask for retesting "to ensure that justice is served accordingly."
"I mean, how could you go to court if it was grey instead of black or white?"
The RCMP has said the problems in the labs are not that serious because in the vast majority of cases, investigators have other evidence to rely on. But Martin Evison, who teaches forensic sciences at the University of Toronto, said the consequences of missed DNA evidence are potentially grave.
"We could be missing the very information we need to decide guilt or innocence. So even if it's a tiny proportion of cases, in the context of any one investigation, that has to be potentially very serious."