Interview

INTERVIEW OF THE CHIEF OF THE CRIMINALISTICS DIRECTORATE OF THE INVESTIGATIVE COMMITTEE OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION ALEXANDER IVANOV TO RIA “NOVOSTI”

The investigation of almost any criminal case includes DNA testing. It is through this difficult examination the investigators managed to solve high-profile murders of children in the Russian regions, the girls in the Moscow area, and many others. How many DNA laboratories are working in the system of the Investigative Committee of Russia, what is the procedure of examination and how the IC intends to develop this area, - Alexander Ivanov , the head of the Main Directorate of Criminalistics told about this in the interview with Maria Glebova, the correspondent of RIA “Novosti”.

- How long have DNA laboratories started to work on the basis of the Main Directorate of Criminalistics of the IC of Russia? In what regions have they been created?

- Arrangements for the establishment of a network of large regional DNA laboratories in the Investigative Committee of Russia system, including the opening of the DNA laboratory of the Main Directorate of Criminalistics (MDC) as the head department in this area of research started in 2010. The staff was recruited, the premises were chosen, and the purchase of equipment and reagents was organized in the same year. In August 2011, when the repair of premises was finished and the equipment base was installed, the laboratory was put into operation. At the same time, the MDC laboratory staff held dozens of expert examinations of more than a thousand objects in 2010.

The complex work on the organization of DNA laboratories in the North Caucasus (Kislovodsk) and the Far East (Khabarovsk) federal districts, which will serve the appropriate regional investigative departments of the Investigative Committee. These laboratories have begun to operate this year, in April.

Another laboratory will be opened in the Investigation Department of the IC in the Sverdlovsk Region (Yekaterinburg) in 2012; it will conduct molecular-genetic examinations for the investigative units of the Ural Federal District. Soon, DNA laboratories will be opened in the Siberian, Volga and Northwestern federal districts.

- What kind of equipment and for what purposes is used in the laboratory?

- All DNA laboratories of the IC are provided with modern equipment and reagents from the world's leading manufacturers (AppliedBiosystems, Promega, Tecan, CarlZeiss, Qiagen, Lumatec, Eppendorf, etc.). The equipment and reagents were specifically validated for forensic purposes. A lot of attention in the organization of laboratory work is given to automation process - all laboratories are equipped with robots for the isolation and normalization of DNA, digging and electrophoresis automated systems.

In addition, this year, all IC laboratories will be connected in the integrated information system of the laboratory, which should further improve the efficiency of the laboratories, increase the rate of exchange of important forensic information between them. The total capacity of the three laboratories allows us to study about 50 thousand objects per year.

Laboratories conduct the full range of biological research traditionally required for the study of physical evidence - from establishing the existence of biological material (blood, saliva, semen, sweat) to determining the genetic characteristics of the biological material, namely the study of autosomal DNA, DNA testing of sex chromosomes, the study of mitochondrial DNA.

- Disclosure of what types of crimes most often requires the holding of examinations?

- Molecular genetic examination is now one of the most modern and effective tools for the forensics in investigation of criminal cases filed in relation to crimes against life, health, and sexual immunity of citizens, as well as in establishing the identity of unidentified corpses. The examination plays a key role in investigations of terrorist crimes. In recent years, this type of examination is increasingly used in the investigation of property crimes - thefts, robberies, frauds.

The uniqueness and stability of DNA, the possibility of studying it in micro quantity, as well as the possibility of maintaining databases of genomic information - properties that allowed the DNA analysis to take leading positions in the forensic support of criminal investigations.

According to the world's leading forensics, the beginning of the use of genomic information in the investigation of crime became the event in criminology equal to the beginning of the use of fingerprinting. At present, fingerprinting and DNA analysis are the two main identification systems in forensic registration.

- How much time does a certain examination require?

- Technological capabilities of IC laboratories are high. Depending on the complexity of the assigned task the laboratory examinations of the objects may be held for up to 8-12 hours - from the detection of DNA traces to obtention of its genetic profile. For example, the examination to determine the identity of the suicide bomber who committed self-destruction act in international arrivals zone at the "Domodedovo" airport on January 24, 2011, allowed the laboratory experts to establish a genetic profile of the offender within 10 hours, they conducted a comprehensive analysis of the information received and established the ethnicity of the suicide bomber. DNA and fingerprint information made it possible to identify the terrorist by January 26.

Emergency situations occur in the laboratory, when the investigation tasks require carrying out of examination in short time. In such cases, the laboratory can work almost around the clock and the duration of such work may be limited only by the physical state of the experts conducting the work. In such cases, the capacity of the laboratory can be amounted to hundreds of objects per 24 hours.

The DNA experts worked in this mode on the forensic support of the criminal investigation of the murder of 10-year-old Lyuba Gromyko in the Amur region in 2011 and 9-year-old Anya Prokopenko, whose body was found in Pyatigorsk in July. In addition, the experts worked on the murder of two girls in Istra district of the Moscow region. The effective work of the experts of DNA laboratories has allowed identifying the offenders in three of the four cases.

- How many crimes had been disclosed, using the results of the conducted analyses?

- Disclosure of a crime is the result of efficient operation and interaction between different agencies: the investigators, the Criminal Investigation staff and the expert institutions. Cumulative actions, quality work at the scene, a well-planned set of investigation and search operations and expert examinations lead to disclosure of the crime. The experts of three laboratories in the Investigative Committee of Russia have established 112 persons involved in crimes, and have identified the 52 bodies in 2012.

- What qualifications do the employees of DNA laboratories have, where were they taught?

- The laboratories of the Investigative Committee of Russia are served by qualified specialists who have a biological, chemical, and biological and medical education. Among the thirteen experts of biomedical research department of the organization of forensic of the Main Directorate of Forensic of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, two persons have a degree of a candidate of biological sciences, one – a candidate of medical sciences, two persons are preparing to defend the thesis for a degree of a candidate of biological sciences.