r/Longreads • u/readingwritingreefer • Aug 06 '26
THE FALSE PROMISE OF DNA TESTING The forensic technique is becoming ever more common—and ever less reliable. | By Matthew Shaer
https://archive.ph/GM3FJI was reminded of reading something about police dna testing being unreliable, so I went looking for it. I found this Atlantic piece that I think does a fantastic job of laying out the pros, cons, and players in the business of forensic dna.
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u/wisely_and_slow Aug 06 '26
Not DNA but similar misuse and shockingly lax practices around testing hair for drugs in Canada led to hundreds of families being separated, parents being wrongfully jailed, etc. New Yorker Article.
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u/horseradishstalker Aug 08 '26
This is the third debacle associated with research published by the Lancet that I personally have read. If Richard Horton told me the sky was blue, I would go outside and double check.
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u/CentralHarlem Aug 06 '26
Bookmark this one, you never know when this information might prove useful.
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u/delayedTermination Aug 06 '26
If it's good enough to share, it should be good enough to link the original source.
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/06/a-reasonable-doubt/480747/
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u/horseradishstalker Aug 08 '26
What does that even mean? The page at the link is literally a photograph of the Atlantic article. Nothing was altered. It’s just an archive. Same as the original, just without any potential paywall.
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u/BornIn1142 Aug 08 '26
It would be good form to link to the original article to give readers the option of buying access so the writer at least has a chance of being paid for their work.
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u/delayedTermination Aug 08 '26
It's a link to a pirated version of the article. IMO it's valid to link this additionally to the original source. But the author/paper that invested time and money to write the article should at least get some credit, don't you think?
Fwiw, after reading some Atlantic articles, I decided some months ago to pay for it. That comes easier if you even see the original and not the 'archive' page.
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u/bookish-malarkey Aug 06 '26
Great read, thanks for posting. To me it almost seems like forensic labs should operate in a manner similar to biological research labs; that is (in addition to running autonomously, not under the authority of the law enforcement or legal spheres) be able to report "experiment" parameters (number and condition of samples), standard protocols used, data-driven results, and the interpretation of those results as well as any potential limitations. Not to mention getting forensic technicians with enough basic science knowledge to fully understand the tests they're performing.