Iran’s Genetic Information Database (GID) for criminals has been established following the allocation of funds, and as a first step, genetic samples from a group of prisoners were taken.
Head of Iran’s Legal Medicine Organization Ahmad Shojaei, called for greater cooperation among the relevant bodies to set priorities in collecting samples as once the profiles are created “we need to carry out studies into how effective the database will be in crime prevention, especially recommitment of crime by professional criminals.”
He was addressing the fourth meeting of GID’s board of directors.
Head of Iran’s Prisons Security and Corrective Measures Organization Ali Asghar Jahangir, said although the database will not be able to solve all crime-related problems, it can play a significant role in helping prevent the repetition of crime. He also stressed the importance of sampling prisoners before other groups.
Mohammad Baqer Olfat, social deputy of crime prevention at the Judiciary, suggested prioritizing sampling of dangerous criminals and provinces with high levels of crime to achieve the desired objectives.
According to studies, professional criminals commit crimes more frequently necessitating a database of their genetic samples. A genetic information database can act as a crime prevention tool as it can help check criminals from committing repeated offenses for fear of being caught.
Statistics show that 12% of criminals resort to committing crimes within a year of the previous offense and 48% repeat their crimes after a gap of five years.
The recorded genetic data is expected to act as a deterrent for regular criminals as it will significantly increase the possibility of repeated offenders being caught. Statistics show that after establishment of a genetic database system in England the rate of crime decreased by 26%. So far, 56 countries have set up genetic information databases.
