. The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, November 1, 2006 - AS

COURTS WILL éften order people convicted of certain crimes ‘to provide a DNA ‘sample to police. Above is a demonstration of how a blood ©
‘sample i is taken, similar to how diabetics test their blood with a single pin prick to the finger.

he 41 1 0:

How a person’ 'S genetic code can. help police and courts

By

By MARGARET SPEIRS

A TOOL in the crime fighting arsenal
of the courts and police involves

. identifying offenders decisively..

' And it’s not just associated with .

; sexual assault cases but many. major
crimes as well. :

_ DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid,

- is a long, double-stranded molecule
that looks like a twisted rope lad-
* der or double helix, according to the

National. DNA Data Bank, where

all court-ordered DNA samples are

kept for access by law enforcement

‘agencies across the country.

DNA, also referred to as the

‘blueprint of life, is found in virtu-
ally every tissue in the human body .

and is a powerful tool for identifying
individuals. With the exception of

- identical twins, each person’s DNA

is unique.

A judge can order a person con-_
-'victed of a crime to provide a.DNA
sample to police. thanks to a sec-,—

tion of the Canadian Criminal Code
that’s been in effect since the late
1990s, according to Neil MacKen-

‘zie>-am: official -with™the provincial “30
“Crown counsel’ Ss. office.

In the case

-a primary offence
such as’ sexual
- assault, murder, «
manslaughter, as- —
sault with a weapon, .

_ assault causing
bodily harm, or ag- .
‘gravated assault,

“the court is required
to order that a
sample be.provid- |
ed unless the court -
feels it would be con-
trary to the interest
of justice.

With second-
ary,-or less seri-*
ous, offences, such#:%4
as impaired driving
causing _ bodily...
harm or death,
dangerous.

robbery, the court has the
option of ordering a DNA

ed.

“The rationale
Gs ‘that DNA is
imply not some-
thing that’ is only
“used in connection

‘can assist with investiga-
- tions where DNA is left at

“However the DNA
: Samples come about,

“bank, indicates
its. Web site.
The latest tal-

- Of that number,
107,260 samples or
‘ 98.4 per cent are
' plood-based, 1,577
“are taken from skin
‘ells inside a person’s
mouth which is 1.5 per
cent and 130 samples come from
hair strands, or 0.1 percent. |
“My understanding is it doesn’t
take much to leave DNA at the scene

a lot in recovering DNA: samples,”

* said MacKenzie.

While MacKenzie wasn’t sure as
to how many times DNA has been
used in the court room, he did say, “I

-. think it’s safe to say it’s fairly fre-

~ quently involved in cases.’
. Whether the collection of DNA

committing subsequent — crimes,
MacKenzie said hopefully it will
provide some deterrent.

.., Sample- to be. provid- -

“them at the data-

now and technology has improved

discourages those convicted from. .

NATIONAL DNA DATA BANK PHOTO

identify the guilty —
opened the way for the creation of the

DNA data bank and an amendment
to the Criminal Code: was. brought

. in to allow judges to order people

convicted of designated offences to

provide blood, skin and hair samples '

to construct DNA profiles.

This legislation became official
on June 30, 2000.

‘According to the National DNA

Data Bank Web site, the, bank itself _

contributes to justice and the safety

of Canadians by ensuring that those

who commit. serious crimes are
identified more quickly across all
police jurisdictions in Canada while
innocent people’ are eliminated from
suspicion. oe

The data bank assists law enforce:
ment agencies with solving crimes
by linking crimes that have no sus-
pects, helping to: identify suspects,

eliminating suspects. when there is,

no match between crime scene DNA

anda DNA profile in the data bank

‘and determining whether a repeat
offender is a suspect.

Constable Rochelle Patenaude
of the lacal RCMP detachment said
when a person convicted of a crime
has to provide a‘'DNA sample to
police, any peace officer trained in
the proper collection procedures can
take the samples of blood, skin and
hair from the individual.

Samples are then forwarded and *
stored at the National DNA Data

Bank.

Information stored at the data
bank can only be used for law en-
forcement purposes and agreements
have been made to assist with the

exchange of information with inter-.
national law enforcement agencies,

Said Patenaude. ;
The National DNA Data Bank is
located in Ottawa and is a branch of

the RCMP Forensic Laboratory | Ser- 7

Crime Stoppers tipsters _

not as effective as in past

By MARGARET SPEIRS

THE PUBLIC can. play a vital
role in catching criminals
and’ be rewarded but only if it

_ provides enough details to police,

something that has dropped off in
recent years.

Ads asking for people to con-
tact Crime Stoppers to report
crimes with the chance to receive

_a financial reward for an arrest and

conviction have been put in front.
of local residents since the organi-
zation began in 1997.

Since then, tips have come in

resulting in several solved crimes

and garnering the program an
award for most stolen property re-
turned in one area for 2001-2002.

Since then however, Crime
Stoppers has handed out less and
less money as the quality of tips
has diminished.

* For example, in 2004 $1,400
was paid to tipsters, while in 2005
only $450 was paid: to tipsters
and so far in 2006 no money has
been paid out, according to Ter-
race RCMP Const. Rochelle Pat-
enaude. —

That’s despite the fact that there
have been 46 tips received by Ter-
race Crime Stoppers this year,
she says, adding that the majority
of these haven’t helped police to
make arrests. , ,

“They’re not giving enough de-
tails,” says Crime Stoppers board
member Lauto Botelho.

“They have to give us more in-

. formation.”

Callers to the tip line will say
things like “I saw a truck by the
crime” but that’s not enough to get

"an arrest or conviction, he says. -

“What kind of truck? White,
green, blue, black or yellow?” he
says. .

Callers need to provide as
many details as possible such as a
description of the suspect or sus-
pects, the .colour of any vehicle
involved, the time the crime oc-
curred,’ the location and anything

_ else specific that can be recalled. _
__- People expect to call witha gen- -
eral tip and then get paid $2,000

but-that’s not how it works, says
Botelho. :

Payment is made to tipsters
after an arrest and conviction are
made.

Tips that are called it in are . passed

- on to RCMP to investigate.

The RCMP provides informa-
tion to the media on unsolved
crimes so the public can be’ in-
formed.

Information

about criminal

' activity, whether from tipsters or

involved citizens, is responsible
for an estimated 90 per cent of all
crimes solved in this country, says
Patenaude.

“Citizens may witness all or
part of a crime without being
aware of what they have seen,’
she says.

“Consequently, they may un-
knowingly possess key informa-
tion that could aid the police in

solving the crime.’

Crime Stopper programs allow
any citizen to supply information
to police while remaining com-
pletely anonymous.

Citizens may provide tips ona

variety of crimes from homicides,
assaults and drug trafficking to
theft and vandalism.

Most items recovered are from ~

break-ins at residences and busi-
nesses, Batelho says. —

Another problem Crime Stop-
pers has. faced involves people
calling to complain about their
noisy neighbours, something that
needs to be reported to the police
instead.

The local Crime Stoppers pro--
gram.covers the Terrace area out

to Kitwanga and into the ‘Nass
Valley.

-Crime Stoppers is branching
out and will publicize ‘most want-
ed’ photos accompanied by a de-
scription of the person every week
starting Nov. 8.

Vancouver and Prince George -

have been doing something simi-
lar. for a while now, says Botelho.
The numbers vary but about six

or seven people sit on the Crime .
Stoppers board and do the admin-
‘istration. work including raising

money to pay for costs and mon-
etary awards, says Botelho.

Money is raised through events
such as Jail and Bail, where busi-
nesses can have a co-worker or
boss “arrested” and people bid to
bail the jailbird out.

The DNA Identification Act

vices.

Be a crime
fighter

How to report
a tip

ANYONE can report a tip by calling .

635-TIPS (635-8477).

Callers are never asked to identify
themselves, instead they are provided .

a tip number so that when they call
back for updates on the information
provided, they need only to provide
the tip number.

Crime Stoppers does not subscribe

to call display and does not record

calls.

Tipsters do not have to g0 to

court.
What information
is required?

It is important to provide details
on the person, vehicle or incident that.

‘is being reported.

Exact names, physical descrip-
tions, times, dates and activities are

required for the police to investigate

a tip.

Why be a tipster?
Rewards are paid for tips that lead
to the arrest and indictment of people
charged with criminal offences.
Crime Stoppers statistics. show a
conviction rate of 95 per cent.
Tipsters may be able to help solve

a crime and help make their commv- -
‘nity a safer place for them and their

families.

CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE TERRACE STANDARD

The Mail Bag

Upset with lice photo

Dear Sir:

I’m writing to convey my dismay and upset at the pho-
tograph that ran with the front page of the Oct. 18 issue
Of The Terrace Standard, entitled, “Vigilance required to
stop lice.”

I could not help but notice the white scalp and fair hair
colour of the person being inspected for lice was, in fact,
Caucasian. ”

_This presents the wrong message to our “multirs
community that head lice only afflicts white people. +

In light of the recent outpouring of angry letters

Terrace Standard over its “binners” story some time ago, ©

T-had hoped our local newspaper would have learned a
lesson or two about racial stereotypes. 9
From now on, I propose all photographs of people in .
The Terrace Standard be taken with bags over their heads,
or black strips be edited in to obscure any racial character-
istics to avoid future hurt feelings, and acid reflux. ;
Lisa Larous, Terrace, B.C.

dy.

Groovin’ on grooves

Dear Sir:

In response to Mari- Lenne Pierce's recent letter to the
editor in which she criticized the grooves now on high-
ways, I would much rather have the grooves and prevent —
an accident than. to have someone seriously injured or |
killed.
_ Maybe if you slowed down at that intersection (that’ s
‘ what they are meant for) you wouldn’t feel as much bump-
ing and shaking.

‘The City of Terrace would be doing. a great ‘thing by
having them installed at the intersection of Keith Ave.

_ and Kenney St. That intersection is quite famous for. ac-

cidents.
Chery! Scheper, Terrace, B. c.

Loves Wal- Mart.
Dear Sir:

_ In regard to the recent debate in the letters to the editor
section about Wal-Mart, I shop at Wal-Mart because‘I’m
on a fixed income and after I shop, I get a lot of change
back. _
_ And Wally’s has pretty much most things I want. ;
. Brian Gregg, Terrace, B. Cc,

A blight on his day —

Dear Sir: .
On October 20th my wife andI along with another thir-
ty seven to be Canadians attended a swearing in ceremony

' at the Elks hall in Terrace. People from Prince Rupert, Ha-

zelton, Kitimat and surrounding areas were there — ~ People
from] believe seventeen different nations. _
The only blight on this magnificent day was when your.

| -reporter/photographer only invited people from the town

of Terrace to be photographed.

~ This, sir, in my mind cast a slur on my fellow Canadi-
ans and my family by the Terrace community.
: Terry Beer, Kitimat B.C.

3

a

Bears need saving

Dear Sir:
_ It’s nice to see that s someone has finally written a letter.
to the editor defending the bears in our community. Thank
you Ortrud Buschmann for taking. the time todoso. ~

I, too, am truly appalled that so many bears have been
shot this, year. It is sickening.

I really don’t understand why people are so afraid of
the bears. When was the last time you heard of a bear at-
tack in Terrace? .

People just need to be aware that there are e bears around.
at this time of year and be smart about it. I was out fora .
walk one day and just about ran right into a bear. Did it
attack? No. It ran the other way.

My teenage daughter came face. to face with a mother
bear and her two-cubs this year. ‘The bears all climbed a
tree. They did not attack: They were scared.

My daughter and I didn’t even consider telling anyone
because we knew the bears would be destroyed if we did.

People need to understand the fact that we live among,

_ bears and this is their home, too. They do not deserve to

be shot just because they are more visible at this’ time of
‘year. It is so unfair.
There has to be some other alternative to the situation

~ other than murder! Why can’t the bears be tranquilized

and then relocated? Or is it too much of a bother? Is time
‘and money the'real issue? .

I guess the easiest answer is just Kill them all. How pa-
thetic! I hope there are a lot of others out there who agree .
with us and are willing to stand up. .

° Something needs to be done to save the bears. .
Pamela Hoekstra, Terrace, B.C.

Not what it seems

Dear Sir: .

Regarding “Hope and Love i in a Box”. from the Oct. 25
issue of The Terrace Standard.

Operation Christmas Child is a tool for a large funda-
‘mentalist Christian group-to proselytize to children who
are Muslim or Catholic. They do it under the. guise of
sending out Christmas 'gifts to children i in ‘Villages: of de-
veloping nations.

Each area can only receive these gift boxes every five -

‘years. Often these gifts contain inappropriate items (i.e. -

shampoo or toothpaste in a country where water is scarce).
‘and they are given out at a rally along with religious litera-
‘ture to encourage these children to embrace, fundamental-
ist Christianity. ;

Furthermore, not all children i in each village : receive a
box. This causes jealousy and resentment.

Last week I spoke witha local business that is in-

volved as a collection point for the boxes: The employees

had no idea there was any sort of agenda associated with

the boxes.

Tam not against Christianity as J am a Christian but I
am against giving gifts with strings attached.
L. Pettipas, Terrace, B.C.

- About the Mail Bag |

The Terrace Standard welcomes letters. Our address
is 3210 Clinton St., Terrace, B.C. V8G 5R2. You can
fax us at 250-638-8432 or e-mail us at newsroom@
terracestandard.com. No attachments, please. Name,
address and phone number required for verification.

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