Ontario Privacy Commissioner Urges ‘Guardrails’ for Police Use of DNA in Criminal Investigations

Ontario Privacy Commissioner Urges ‘Guardrails’ for Police Use of DNA in Criminal Investigations
Patricia Kosseim, Ontario's information and privacy commissioner, in Toronto on Jan. 24, 2024. The Canadian Press/Cole Burston
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Ontario’s privacy commissioner has issued a list of guidelines for police’s use of DNA to track down criminals using a method called investigative genetic genealogy.

The commissioner, Patricia Kosseim, said the tracking down of suspects through DNA and hereditary research raises privacy and human rights concerns. She has offered a list of 12 guidelines, called “guardrails,” that police forces can use to guide the process until legislation catches up.