Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications
Publication Date
2-1-2025
Journal
Forensic Science International: Synergy
DOI
10.1016/j.forsciint.2025.112372
PMID
39874882
PMCID
PMC12151333 DOI:
PubMedCentral® Posted Date
6-10-2025
PubMedCentral® Full Text Version
Author MSS
Published Open-Access
yes
Keywords
Humans, United States, Public Opinion, DNA Fingerprinting, Surveys and Questionnaires, Forensic Genetics, Pedigree, Male, Female, Adult, Middle Aged, Crime, Forensic investigative genetic genealogy, Investigative genetic genealogy, Forensic genetic genealogy, Public opinion, Public policy
Abstract
In 2018, after law enforcement announced it had used a technique called forensic investigative genetic genealogy (FIGG) to identify the Golden State Killer, we conducted a U.S. general population survey and found most respondents supported using FIGG to solve violent crimes. Since then, FIGG has helped close hundreds of criminal cases, but it also has weathered controversies. On FIGG's fifth anniversary, we conducted an expanded, follow-up survey with U.S.-based participants to determine if public opinion had changed and found continued support for FIGG across most applications. The same proportion (91 %) of respondents in the 2018 and 2023 surveys endorsed using FIGG in genetic genealogy databases to help identify perpetrators of violent crimes. Similar to the 2018 survey, only 57 % of respondents supported FIGG to help identify perpetrators of non-violent crimes. The results indicate that U.S. policies that have been adopted for FIGG are generally consistent with the opinions of our survey respondents over time. Nonetheless, there are opportunities to strengthen FIGG governance with the goal of maintaining public trust in the technique.