Facing the unknown suspect: forensic DNA phenotyping and the oscillation between the individual and the collective
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Facing the unknown suspect: forensic DNA phenotyping and the oscillation between the individual and the collective Roos Hopman1 · Amade M’charek1
© Springer Nature Limited 2020
Abstract Forensic DNA phenotyping (FDP) encompasses a set of technologies geared towards inferring externally visible characteristics from DNA traces found at crime scenes. As such, they are used to generate facial renderings of unknown suspects. First, through the configuration of molecularly inscribed parts, pigmentary traits are assembled into a probabilistic rendition of the face; second, facial features are landscaped from DNA to produce a metrically rendered face; third, by geographically ordering DNA, an unknown suspect is attributed a particular genetic ancestry as to give him a face. We ethnographically examine these FDP practices within and beyond the laboratory to demonstrate how the promise of individuality—namely the face of the suspect—comes with the production of collectives. And it is precisely these collectives that are a matter of concern in the context of crime, as they rapidly become racialized. We show that each of these FDP practices folds in disparate histories—variously implicating the individual and the collective—while giving rise to different versions of race. The “race sorting logic” (Fullwiley in Br J Sociol 66(1):36–45, 2015) displays the tenacity of race in genetics research and its practical applications. Keywords Forensic DNA phenotyping · Ethnography · Individual-collective · Race
* Roos Hopman [email protected] 1
University of Amsterdam, Nieuwe Achtergracht 166, 1018 WV Amsterdam, The Netherlands Vol.:(0123456789)
R. Hopman, A. M’charek
Introduction The US city of Brockton was shaken by a succession of rapes and murders in the winter of 2013–2014. Analysis of DNA material retrieved from each of the crime scenes established that these crimes were committed by one and the same individual, a man. But who this individual was, and what he looked like, remained unknown. In an effort to generate leads to identify the unknown suspect, who became known as “the Brockton rapist,” investigators turned to a commercial company, Parabon Nanolabs. Parabon, specialized in the creation of “DNAbased” facial composites, subsequently produced the composite below (Fig. 1). The composite claims to be an approximation of the unknown suspect’s face, providing clues about his geographical ancestry, pigmentary traits, and facial forms, all presented in one image. The percentages and the detail in the digital representation of the unknown suspect’s face give the composite an air of exactitude. It generates the impression that this is the face of the Brockton rapist, the particular individual investigators were looking for.
Fig. 1 Facial composite produced by Parabon Nanolabs [https://snapshot.parabon-nanolabs.com/posters (accessed 26/03/2020)]
Facing the unknown suspect: forensic DNA phenotyping and the…
As a daily newspaper reported: “The startlingly lifelike image shows a brown- or light-brown-skinned man w
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