The promulgation of the new DNA Act in January was a “monumental step forward” for South Africa as the nation battled high levels of crime, but an easy implementation should not be expected.

The Criminal Law (Forensic Procedures) Amendment Bill enables the incorporation of the genetic blueprints of human beings into the mosaic of evidence left at a crime scene, making it mandatory for DNA samples to be collected from those arrested and convicted of Schedule 8 offences and added to a national database.

Schedule 8 offences included treason, public violence, murder, rape, culpable homicide, sex trafficking, robbery, theft, kidnapping and arson.

South Africa would start to build up an extensive National Forensic DNA Database for use by the South African Police Service (SAPS) in the investigation of crimes, enabling a cross reference for potential matches on the database of offenders.

However, while this was a “significant victory”, South Africa had one of the highest crime rates, which would lead to a massive database that would take time to develop, DNA Project executive director Vanessa Lynch warned during a recent panel discussion led by rape and sexual abuse support network Tears.

The panel comprised rape survivor Lindie Mdlulie, criminal lawyer James Aveyard, New York Police Department (NYPD) detective sergeant Joseph Blozis; University of Central Florida Chemistry Department professor and US-based National Centre for Forensic Science international forensic specialist Jack Ballantyne and Efficient Group director and chief economist Dawie Roodt.

The “ambitious” five-year undertaking, to be led by a ten-person oversight committee, will be challenging going forward, with backlogs to be expected and many obstacles faced during implementation, particularly in the first year when training is under way and laboratory efficiencies and procedures are updated.

The National Forensic Oversight Ethics Board will comprise five members of the pub- lic, four government officials and one retired judge or senior advocate, and will, over the next five years, be responsible for the development of the Act in terms of its requirements.

Blozis said the incorporation of DNA into the range of evidence would cost money and time, but, in the long term, the increase in the number of profiles on the new database will improve the chance of finding a match and linking a DNA profile found at a crime scene to a suspect, while deriving criminal intelligence, saving police resources, reducing the crime rate and decreasing the impact on the economy.

The SAPS’s current DNA database covered only about 180 000 profiles, as there was previously no mandate for DNA collection prior to the new Act.

Blozis, whose own police department underwent a similar project over a decade ago, added that the amendment was, in effect, arming the police with a powerful tool against crime.

When the NYPD developed its DNA database, it ended up with a backlog of about 17 000 cases and experienced several challenges, but as implementation progressed, this was cleared and the process smoothed out.

“It is going to take time. It will not happen overnight,” Blozis warned.