Tracing the 'Messy' History of Forensic DNA Analysis in Canada (Report‪)‬

"DNA identification methods have been controversial from the very beginning, not just for social and legal reasons, but for scientific ones" (Gerlach, 2004, p.41). The history of scientific controversy surrounding forensic DNA analysis in the Canadian legal system is largely invisible. It is rarely discussed in the media and is often disregarded in scientific and legal practice. Since its introduction to the Canadian legal system in the late 1980s, DNA analysis has been used extensively to identify and trace perpetrators of crime (Gerlach, 2004). It is assumed to have the power to reveal truth about a criminal act (Quinlan, Fogel, & Quinlan, 2010). This presumed power of DNA analysis conceals and masks its own history of controversy. Tracing this history, however, is a necessary step towards understanding the contemporary usage of forensic DNA technology in the Canadian legal system.