Efecto del nivel de integración de los individuos en el seno de sus grupos

The police have the power to obtain blood samples in terms of section 37 (1) (c) of the Criminal Procedure Act. An involuntary blood test unquestionably constitutes an invasion of privacy.321 However, the right to privacy is not absolute and may yield to other considerations of legal policy.322

(a) Before the amendment the enabling Act provided in section 37 (1) (c) of the Criminal Procedure Act that:

Any police official may –

take such steps as he may deem necessary in order to ascertain whether the body of any person referred to in paragraph (a) (i) or (ii) has any mark, characteristic or distinguishing feature or shows any condition or appearance: Provided that no police official shall take any blood sample of the person concerned nor shall a police official make any examination of the body of the person concerned where that person is a female and the police official concerned is not a female.323

(b) The new section 37 (1) (c) of the amended Criminal Procedure Act 324 provides as follows:

Any police official may-

take such steps as he or she may deem necessary in order to ascertain whether the body of any person referred to in paragraph (a) (i) or (ii) or paragraph (a) or (b) of section 36B (1) has any mark, characteristic or distinguishing feature or shows any condition or appearance: Provided that a police official may not -

i. take a blood sample of any person,325 or

321

Seethal v Pravita and another NO 1983 (3) SA 837 (D).

322

Ibid.

323

Section 37 (1) (c) of the previous Criminal Procedure Act before amendment in 2010.

324

Act 51 of 1977.

325

The Criminal Law (Forensic Procedures) Amendment Bill (B9-2013) has amended the section to read as follows: (i) take an intimate sample of any person. At the time of writing the Bill had not been passed and was not in operation yet.

ii. examine the body of a person who is of a different gender to the police official326.

The difference between the amended section 37(1) (c) and the new section 37 (1) (c) is that the amended section 37 (1) (c) does not refer to section 36B and the new section 37 (1) (c) refer to section 36B. Section 37 (1) allows the police official discretion to take or not to take body-prints and bodily appearance, while section 36B (1) compels the police official to take fingerprints of persons who committed Schedule 1 offences. The term “body-prints” in terms of definitions in Section 36A excludes “fingerprints”. It is suggested that body-prints include any number of prints, such as a person’s “DNA prints” lifted from a number of samples, including blood samples.

3.1.1 Collection and analysis of DNA327

Just like fingerprints and identification parades, DNA can also be used to ascertain the bodily features of a person. DNA is a scientific method of ascertaining bodily features and is extremely accurate. Scientific and technological advances in the past 25 years have made identification of suspects easier and more definite with the application of DNA typing. DNA contains the pattern or unique hereditary “roadmap” for all human beings and determines how humans develop, grow and mature throughout life. The theory that everyone has unique DNA, except identical twins, has reached scientific certainty and the ability to translate the science from the laboratory to the court room has become routine. Suspects who have left samples of their DNA at the crime scene or on a victim may have their own DNA sample compared to recovered specimens. Where a person would never have had the opportunity to have lawfully been in a specific location to have left DNA evidence or would never have normally occupied a position to leave DNA evidence on or in a victim, the match that can be made may prove decisive in proving guilt. Similarly, wrongly convicted individuals may be able to prove that someone else was the criminal, and in so doing, free themselves from illegal incarceration328.

The method of ascertaining bodily features through DNA is regarded as intrusive or invasive, as it is “intimate”.329 A “non-intimate” sample means a buccal sample 330 a sample taken

326

Section 37 (1) (c) of the new Criminal Procedure Act after amendment by Criminal Law (Forensic Procedures) Amendment Act 6 of 2010.

327

“DNA” means deoxyribonucleic acid, which is a biochemical molecule found in the cells that makes each species unique.

328

Ingram Criminal Evidence 458.

329 _{“intimate sample” means a sample of blood or pubic hair or a sample taken from the genitals}

or anal orifice area from the body of a person, excluding a buccal sample. Criminal Law (Forensic Procedures) Amendment Bill. (B9-2013) Introduced in the National Assembly on 26 April 2013. Page 3 at 50. In section 62 of Code D of PACE, United Kingdom intimate sample

from a nail or from under the nail of a person. Bodily samples 331 are usually taken for DNA analysis332 and are obtained from the crime scene. The crime scene can be a place (premises or piece of land) or even the body of a person. The samples found at the crime scene are called “crime scene samples”333. DNA is usually collected from hair, buccal swaps, bodily fluids, blood or teeth. The normal procedure that is followed in obtaining bodily samples for DNA analysis is described below.

The police are usually called to the crime scene. The first police official who arrives at the crime scene (in most cases uniformed police officers) will cordon off the crime scene and call the experts if the crime scene needs expert investigation. The experts will then investigate the crime scene for possible evidence. For the purposes of DNA, the police will search for blood, semen, skin cells, tissue, organs, muscle, brain cells, bone, teeth, saliva, mucus and perspiration. In order to avoid contamination of the crime scene, during the evidence collection process the investigator will wear gloves, change gloves between exhibits, avoid touching the area where he or she believes DNA may exist and avoid talking, sneezing and coughing on exhibits.334

After the exhibits have been collected, they will be sealed according to prescripts and forwarded to the Forensic Science Laboratory for analysis. The DNA results will give a DNA profile335. Once the suspect has been arrested, a control sample (blood sample) will be obtained from the suspect or arrested person by a medical practitioner. The control blood sample will be sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory for analysis. The DNA profile from

means blood, semen or other tissue sample, urine, pubic hair, dental impression and swab from other places than the mouth. Saliva is not an intimate sample.

330

“Buccal sample” means a sample of cellular material taken from the inside of a person’s mouth. Criminal Law (Forensic Procedures) Amendment Bill. (B9-2013) Introduced in the National Assembly on 26 April 2013. Page 3 at 20.

331

“Bodily sample” means any type of sample taken from a person and includes intimate and non-intimate samples. Criminal Law (Forensic Procedures) Amendment Bill. (B9-2013) Introduced in the National Assembly on 26 April 2013. Page 3 at 10.

332 _{‘Forensic DNA analysis” means the analysis of sections of the DNA of a bodily sample to}

determine the forensic DNA profile, provided that this does not relate to any analysis pertaining to medical tests or for health purposes or the mental characteristic of a person or to determine any physical information of the person other than the gender.

333 _{“Crime scene sample’ means physical evidence retrieved from the crime scene or any other}

place where evidence of the crime may be found, and may include physical evidence collected from the body of a person. Criminal Law (Forensic Procedures) Amendment Bill. (B9-2013) Introduced in the National Assembly on 26 April 2013. Page 3 at 40.

334

SAPS Forensic Science Laboratory, Forensic Fact file no 6 of 2011, page 2 of 5.

335 _{“Forensic DNA profile” means the results obtained from forensic DNA analysis of bodily}

samples taken from a person or from a crime scene, providing a unique string of alpha- numeric characters to provide identity reference: Provided that this does not contain any information on the health or medical condition or mental characteristic of a person or the predisposition or physical information of the person other than the gender. Criminal Law (Forensic Procedures) Amendment Bill. (B9-2013) Introduced in the National Assembly on 26 April 2013. Page 3 at 45.

the control blood sample obtained from the suspect or arrested person will be compared to the DNA profile obtained from the crime scene sample to establish a match. If the two match, it is regarded as a hit, meaning it is positive identification. In special circumstances, an official who has been authorised and trained by a medical practitioner in terms of the National Health Act, 2003 336 may also be permitted to take a non-intimate DNA samples (buccal sample inside the cheek).

Any authorised person 337 who in terms of any other law takes a buccal sample from any person must do so in a designated area deemed suitable for such purposes as determined by the Departmental Head of Police, Justice and Constitutional Development or Correctional Services in their area of responsibility.338 An authorised person must take a buccal sample or cause the taking of any other bodily sample by a registered medical practitioner or registered nurse of any person arrested, released on bail, served with a summons or convicted in respect of any offence referred to in Schedule 1.339

An authorised person may take a buccal sample of a person or a group of persons, if there are reasonable grounds to –

(a) suspect that the person or one or more of the persons in that group has committed an offence referred to in Schedule 1; and

(b) believe that the sample or the results of an examination thereof will be of value in the investigation by excluding or including one or more of those persons as possible perpetrators of the offence .340 These samples are for investigation purposes.

Comparative DNA search is also permissible.341 The authorised officer must perform comparative searches on forensic DNA profiles that are entered onto the NFDD for purposes

336

Act 61 of 2003.

337 _{“Authorised person” means (i) with reference to photographic images, fingerprints or body-}

prints, any police official or a member of the Independent Police Investigative Directorate referred to in the Independent Police Investigative Directorate Act, 2011 ( Act No 1 of 2011), in the performance of his or her official duties, and (ii) with reference to buccal samples, means any police official or member of the Independent Police Investigative Directorate , referred to in the Independent Police Directorate Act, 2011 ( Act No 1 of 2011), who is not a crime scene examiner, but has successfully undergone the training prescribed by the Minister of Health under the National Health Act, 2003(Act 61 of 2003), in respect of the taking of a buccal sample, (iii) any registered medical practitioner or registered nurse as contemplated in the National Health Act, 2003(Act No 61 of 2003), providing services to the Department of Correctional Services.

338

Section 36A (5) Criminal Law (Forensic Procedures) Amendment Bill (B9-2013) Page 4 at 15.

339 _{Section 36D.(1) Criminal Law (Forensic Procedures) Amendment Bill (B9-2013). Page 4 at}

35.

340

Section 36E (1) Criminal Law (Forensic Procedures) Amendment Bill (B9-2013). Page 5 at 50.

related to the detection of crime, the investigation of an offence, the conducting of a prosecution, identification of missing persons or the identification of unidentified human remains, and communicate the outcome of the comparative search. The authorised officer may, subject to the provisions of this Act and any other applicable law, upon receipt of a forensic DNA profile from a foreign state or a recognised international organisation, tribunal or entity, compare the forensic DNA profile with those in the NFDD,342 for the detection of crime, the investigation of an offence, the conducting of a prosecution, the identification of unidentified human remains or the identification of missing person and may then communicate the outcome of the comparative search to the requester.343

3.2 DNA AS A METHOD OF ASCERTAINING BODILY FEATURES OF A PERSON: