Furensics: Animal DNA in Criminal Investigations

Forensic science and DNA are amazing tools, but you can only use it if your officers know where to look, when to look and how to collect samples to test. This training introduces officers to these tools in a way that is approachable, understandable and applicable to animal cruelty cases. It includes a practical exercise so that officers can feel confident sampling animals for DNA.

1. General Training:

   1. Introduction to UC Davis VGL-Forensics

   2. What is DNA (nuclear and mitochondrial DNA)

   3. Where is DNA in animals

   4. How can you use this tool in your cases? Case examples including a dog attack on a human, dog evidence in human homicide, animal cruelty cases, domestic violence, robberies, crush video, bestiality.

   5. Submitting samples to VGL-Forensics or other crime lab (including possible funding sources for testing)

2. Sampling DNA:

   1. What destroys DNA

   2. Methods of sampling from crime scenes

   3. Methods of obtaining reference/known samples

3. How to: 

   1. Swab live reference animals

   2. Package the swab evidence