The setting up of a local forensic DNA testing lab is a milestone in Maltese history. It will facilitate criminal investigations and it will also be cheaper to carry out tests locally rather than having to send pieces of evidence abroad.

The fact that this is a private company will also help, because if one were to be completely honest, the private sector is always much more efficient than the public, and tends to stick to standards more.

The lab, owned and operated by Synergene Technologies Ltd, mainly deals in DNA profiling, DNA forensics and DNA paternity tests.

Let us tackle one issue at a time. DNA profiling allows scientists to collate databases of genetic codes by taking samples from convicted criminals. Although this is a privately-owned company, the government would do well to strike a deal with them whereby every convicted felon is made to give a sample so he may be entered into the database.

This would obviously allow the police to have complete records of each and every prisoner’s genetic fingerprint. One only has to watch documentaries about forensic detectives to see the benefits that are reaped from such a system. Criminals always leave a trace. If people who have a criminal record are put into this database, all the police need to do in the event of a crime is to look for something at the scene – a hair, a flake of dandruff or a tiny drop of blood – and they can immediately identify the culprit.

It can also have other uses. We have heard time and time again about court cases that have been won or lost through DNA evidence. There has been criticism that certain items that should have been tested for DNA samples, such as cigarette butts, were not tested in very high-profile criminal cases.

On the other hand, one does of course accept that it used to be expensive to send evidence abroad for testing which, apart from costing a lot of money, also takes a lot more time. One also runs the risk of evidence becoming contaminated on its travels.

Well, these issues should now be resolved. We have a lab in Malta that can be used to track down criminals. They might have a foreign hair on their shoulder, or victims might have skin under their nails where they have tried to fend off their aggressors. Luckily in this country, there are not many murders that go unsolved – some being solved years after they were committed. But this service being available to police should be a massive help indeed. For their part, the police should set up and religiously maintain a unit that deals with all correspondence with the DNA lab, to ensure that all tests are carried out and returned. DNA never lies. And, hopefully, the introduction of this new lab will mean that – although it does not happen often – people are not wrongly accused of crimes (as has happened in rape cases). More importantly, however, it will mean that people will not get away with murder.

Of course, there is also the aspect of checking for paternity.

While some might argue that it should be a case of

letting sleeping dogs lie, many others might want to avail themselves of this service and it is their absolute right to do so. It is indeed real progress.