DNA database leads way for gardaí

Gardaí have been given leads in 350 burglaries, 52 robberies, 10 assaults, six murders, and five sexual assaults thanks to the new DNA database.

The database, established in November 2015, can match a crime stain from one scene to a crime stain from another scene — suggesting the same person committed multiple crimes — or can match a crime stain to an individual, suggesting a link between a person and a crime.

The database, operated by Forensic Science Ireland, identified 428 hits in 2016, which assisted 625 cases.