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| Police warned of DNA sample errors by watchdog | Police warned of DNA sample errors by watchdog |
| (6 months later) | |
| The police watchdog has called on forces across the country to review unsolved serious crimes after three sex offenders in Devon and Cornwall were finally caught when an error over how DNA samples were dealt with was spotted. | The police watchdog has called on forces across the country to review unsolved serious crimes after three sex offenders in Devon and Cornwall were finally caught when an error over how DNA samples were dealt with was spotted. |
| Police could have forensic evidence locked away that could identify serious and serial offenders, the Independent Police Complaints Commission is warning. | Police could have forensic evidence locked away that could identify serious and serial offenders, the Independent Police Complaints Commission is warning. |
| The IPCC called on the Association of Chief Police Officers and chief constables to consider reviewing cold cases to find out if advances in forensic techniques could help solve serious crimes. | The IPCC called on the Association of Chief Police Officers and chief constables to consider reviewing cold cases to find out if advances in forensic techniques could help solve serious crimes. |
| Devon and Cornwall police accepted it had missed chances to solve crimes earlier and said the IPCC inquiry highlighted "a potential national issue around how historic DNA should be treated". | Devon and Cornwall police accepted it had missed chances to solve crimes earlier and said the IPCC inquiry highlighted "a potential national issue around how historic DNA should be treated". |
| At the centre of the IPCC investigation was the rape of a 16-year-old girl in Plymouth city centre in 1989. The offender was not found but a DNA profile of the suspect was obtained from the victim's clothing. It was stored within the national archive of the Forensic Science Service, but was not loaded on to the national DNA database when it came into existence in 1995. | At the centre of the IPCC investigation was the rape of a 16-year-old girl in Plymouth city centre in 1989. The offender was not found but a DNA profile of the suspect was obtained from the victim's clothing. It was stored within the national archive of the Forensic Science Service, but was not loaded on to the national DNA database when it came into existence in 1995. |
| In 2000, the man who committed the rape, Shaun Harrison, was charged with drink-driving. His DNA sample was loaded on the national database, but no match with any previous crime was found. | In 2000, the man who committed the rape, Shaun Harrison, was charged with drink-driving. His DNA sample was loaded on the national database, but no match with any previous crime was found. |
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