Rough justice: Claims that killers, rapists have been set free by forensic bungles
Thousands of criminal DNA samples will be retested after an interim report exposed extraordinary flaws in the Queensland Forensic and Scientific Services laboratory and a ‘potential miscarriage of justice’.
The commission of inquiry, headed by Walter Sofronoff, has delivered an interim report to the government outlining serious shortfalls in testing thresholds.
It found forensics at the state-run laboratory failed to test samples under a certain threshold, which could have identified partial or full DNA profiles.
The report has uncovered up to 10 per cent of samples classified as āinsufficient for processingā if further tested may lead to positive identification or potentially change the outcome of legal proceedings.
āThere is a likelihood (with further processing) that some will find either partial or full DNA,ā Health Minister Yvette DāAth told reporters on Tuesday.
DāAth said it was not clear why the thresholds in place between 2018 and June 2022 had been introduced, but she feared it might have led to a miscarriage of justice in some cases.
āThese are very serious issues. I want answers. The government wants answers. And I have no doubt that Commissioner Sofronoff will leave no stone unturned to find out how this has occurred,ā she said.
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āI want to know why the methodology has changed. I want to know who authorised it. I want to understand the reasoning behind it.ā
The minister said the next step would be to identify samples that may show partial or full DNA.
āWe have no idea the number of samples yet, and we donāt know how many of those will show sufficient DNA to warrant further consideration by QPS,ā DāAth said.
Once identified, the samples will be prioritised and undergo urgent retesting.
āWhat we do know is even if thereās one, just one case, one victim, one alleged perpetrator where the DNA shows a connection, possibly to someone involved in a crime, then we have a responsibility to act and provide that person with justice in whatever way we can,ā DāAth said.
Queensland Police confirmed a task force had been established to ācontinue identifying and reviewing evidentiary samples for additional DNA testing with Queensland Health Forensic and Scientific Servicesā.
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Acting Deputy Commissioner Mark Wheeler said the number of samples was in the thousands.
āSo there is a fair bit of work to get through,ā he told reporters on Tuesday.
āWe look at the seriousness of the case first. Weāve got to prioritise. Thatās why weāve set up a team who are experts in that area.ā
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said she was shocked by the findings.
āI am incredibly concerned, and that is why cabinet will be dealing with this interim report today,ā she said on Tuesday
Potential problems with the lab first came to light as a result of The Australian newspaperās podcast series about the slaying of Shandee Blackburn, a young woman killed at Mackay in 2013.
Concerns have been raised about a potential failure to test crucial forensic evidence, with specimens falling below a certain level reported as āno DNA detectedā or āDNA insufficient for further processingā.
DNA threshold limits in place since 2018 have since been removed.
The opposition said the potential bungling of DNA testing was extremely serious.
āMurderers, rapists, people who have committed sexual assault could potentially be walking free, because the forensic science services of Queensland werenāt doing their job,āĀ Liberal National Party spokesman Tim Nicholls said.
Sofronoff will deliver his final report in December.
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