Seminar series on genetics, technology, security and justice. Crossing, contesting and comparing boundaries

对犯罪、恐怖主义、大规模死亡、暴行和灾难的安全担忧是新技术发展的关键驱动力，而人类遗传学研究在这方面发挥了重要作用。DNA技术为鉴定人类遗骸和提供有助于在复杂犯罪中提供证据的信息提供了重要资源。有时，新的法医技术被迅速采用，但对其进行适当监管却被推迟，直到在具体情况下，在部署后出现意外使用和影响（例如，将儿童DNA样本无限期储存在刑事DNA数据库中）。在其他情况下，在技术实施之前进行了广泛的立法审议，有时被拒绝。有必要整理关于采用法医遗传技术所带来的机遇和挑战的现有知识，以确保这些技术尊重隐私和人的尊严。三个相互联系的意见将构成系列讨论会的重点。(1)比较安全和卫生背景下的DNA使用：研讨会将确定安全和卫生两个领域在目标、责任、义务和基本价值方面的差异。例如，虽然知情同意问题可能是在医疗保健和健康保险中使用遗传学的核心问题，但司法和安全环境优先考虑迅速识别危险罪犯、在法庭上提供可信证据或明确识别受害者。这为参与者准备了接下来的工作。(2)确定在安全背景下使用医疗数据的问题：研讨会将探讨通过使用新的法医遗传技术使医疗数据可用于安全工作时所产生的实际和潜在问题。迄今为止，DNA的法医用途包括将来自犯罪现场、身份不明者或志愿者的样本与现有的DNA档案（例如DNA数据库）进行匹配。新技术有望提供更多关于样本供体的信息，例如他们的外表，年龄，甚至行为。这可能影响社会理解和处理卫生数据的方式，特别是在面临严重犯罪、恐怖主义或大规模灾难威胁时，信息至关重要。研讨会还将探讨如何使用这些新技术，并比较其应用的法律和伦理背景。(3)比较各国法医遗传技术的使用情况：DNA技术和数据越来越多地跨国界使用。各国刑法、隐私立法和警察做法的差异使这一过程非常复杂。例如，在警察可以要求谁提供DNA样本方面存在差异。研讨会将邀请来自欧洲和美国的主要学者，比较不同司法管辖区的实践和公共和专业辩论。英国良好实践的发展可以借鉴其他地方的经验，并且可以解决对这些技术跨境使用的期望和误解。研讨会将汇集学术研究人员，政策制定者和从业人员从警务组织，商业法医服务提供商，公共部门组织和民间社会团体，在英国和国外，讨论如何使用这些技术来支持安全，同时尊重自由。将建立一个由相关人员组成的网络，以传播现有的和设计新的研究，为英国在利用遗传信息解决正义和安全的社会挑战方面的政策和实践提供信息。

Security concerns - about crime, terrorism, mass death atrocities and disasters - are a key driver for the development of new technologies, and human genetics research has played an important contribution here. DNA technologies provide vital resources for the identification of human remains and the production of information that can help to provide evidence in complex crimes. Sometimes, new forensic technologies have been adopted rapidly while their adequate regulation has been delayed until, in specific instances, unintended uses and impacts have emerged after deployment (e.g. indefinite storage of DNA samples from children in criminal DNA databanks). In other cases, extensive legislative deliberations have preceded, and sometimes rejected, technology implementation. There is a need to collate existing knowledge about the opportunities and challenges that accompany the adoption of forensic genetic technologies to ensure that they respect privacy and human dignity.Three linked observations will shape the focus of the seminar series. (1) Comparing DNA uses in security and health contexts: Seminars will identify differences in aims, responsibilities, obligations, and underlying values between the two domains of security and health. For example, whilst issues of informed consent may be central to the use of genetics in healthcare and health insurance, justice and security contexts prioritise speedy identification of dangerous offenders, the production of credible evidence in court, or the unequivocal identification of victims. This prepares participants for the following work.(2) Identifying issues in the use of medical data in security contexts: Seminars will explore the actual and potential issues that arise when medical data become available to security efforts via the use of novel forensic genetic technologies. Forensic uses of DNA have so far consisted of matching samples from crime scenes, unidentified persons, or volunteers, with existing DNA profiles (e.g. on a DNA database). Novel technologies are anticipated to provide much more information about the donor of a sample, for example their appearance, age, even behaviour. This can impact on the way society understands and treats health data, especially when information is vital in the face of serious criminal, terrorist or mass disaster threats. Seminars will also explore how such novel technologies have already been used, and compare the legal and ethical contexts of their application.(3) Comparing uses of forensic genetic technologies across countries: DNA technologies and data are increasingly used across national borders. National variation in criminal laws, privacy legislation and police practices render this process very complex. For example, there are differences in who can be asked to give a DNA sample by police forces. Seminars will, by inviting leading scholars from Europe and the USA, compare practices and public and professional debates across a variety of jurisdictions. The development of good practice in the UK can be informed by learning from experience elsewhere, and expectations and misunderstandings in the cross-border use of these technologies can be addressed.The seminars will bring together academic researchers, policy makers and practitioners from policing organisations, commercial forensic service providers, public sector organisations and civil society groups, in the UK and abroad, to discuss how such technologies can be used to support security while respecting freedom. A network of those involved will be established to disseminate existing and to design new research to inform UK policy and practice on the uses of genetic information to address the societal challenges of justice and security.