Establishing the robustness of short-tandem-repeat statistics for forensic applications. |
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| Authors: | I W Evett P D Gill J K Scrange and B S Weir |
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| Affiliation: | Forensic Science Service, Birmingham, United Kingdom. |
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| Abstract: | Before the introduction of a four-locus multiplex short-tandem-repeat (STR) system into casework, an extensive series of tests were carried out to determine robust procedures for assessing the evidential value of a match between crime and suspect samples. Twelve databases were analyzed from the three main ethnic groups encountered in casework in the United Kingdom: Caucasians, Afro-Caribbeans, and Asians from the Indian subcontinent. Independence tests resulted in a number of significant results, and the impact that these might have on forensic casework was investigated. It is demonstrated that previously published methods provide a simple procedure for correcting allele frequencies--and that this leads to conservative casework estimates of evidential value. |
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