I have just received the news that our recent crime scene awareness advert has been pulled off TV due to a handful of complaints received by some viewers.

I concede that those complaints which related to the earlier time slots given to us by DSTV which potentially exposed children to the advert, were reasonable. But may I read you one of the complaints not related to the time the ad was broadcast:

“Die DNA advertensie is vieslik! Ek was nou so ontsteld. Dit is uiters swak om so iets op my gunsteling kanaal te sien. Nee man!!”

(Rough Translation: “The DNA ad is disgusting! I was so upset now. This is very bad for me to see something like this on my favorite channel. No man!!”)

This one amused me. Picture this person sitting in their lounge outraged by the image they have just seen on TV; an image portrayed by an actor, whilst outside real people are being serially murdered and raped.  I am willing to bet you, that no outcry will be heard from this lounge in respect of the latter. But one bad image on their favourite TV channel, and they take the time to write a complaint to ensure that the advert is taken off TV.

If this kind of vociferous reaction, aggressive response and call to action was taken by more South Africans against the real, existing issue of rape and murder in our country, can you imagine what a force we would be? We could collectively stand up and insist on Parliament passing DNA legislation which makes it mandatory for all suspects to have their DNA profiles taken and entered onto a database at arrest, just as they do with fingerprints. Or we could stand up for greater crime scene awareness so that not only police but private security companies and the general public, amongst others,  stop desecrating crime scenes and destroying and damaging critical evidence that could potentially link these rapists and murderers to the crimes they have committed thus ensuring that they are prevented from doing it again. And again.

So this is what I have to say in response:

Die misdaad in SA is vieslik! Ek was nou so ontsteld. Dit is uiters swak om so iets in my gunsteling land te sien. Nee man!!

Radio 702 have asked me to discuss this on their breakfast show this Sunday @ 8.10am with Udo Carelse and I will bring this up as well as other issues that the advert has raised. (This can also be heard on Cape Talk 567am)

I am as ever an eternal optimist (why else would I do this!!??), so in ending may I say that the positive aspect is that the advert has created conversation around an issue that needs greater awareness in our country. Job well done.

Vanessa Lynch

p.s. – Ironically, this last weekend, The Weekend Argus and  Saturday Star ran a half page complimentary feature on our ad, which was neither solicited nor requested by us. They thought our ad was “Told with Conviction”. See below:

Many of you may have followed the DNA Project MTB Team over the weekend as 15 of us rode 100 km’s over some of the most beautiful (and quite treacherous!) Cape terrain in the 2012 Houw Hoek MTB tour. Have a look at our Facebook page for more photos of our ride.

I had no idea that such incredible support and awareness would be achieved through riding this event as ‘The DNA Project Team’. Our new cycle shirts were an instant hit and the distinctive blue helix’s on our shoulders soon became a trademark of the tour as everyone started recognising us as ‘The DNA Project Team’. Throughout the two day race we were constantly asked what the DNA Project was all about and by the end of the weekend, our mission to raise awareness for crime scene awareness and the importance of DNA legislation in SA had not only been achieved, but exceeded.

Thank you to the awesome DNA Project Team for their commitment to the ride and our cause. Whilst I predominantly rode with my fantastic group of 4 (we couldn’t keep up with the rest of our 11 faster team mates!), I know that out ahead, everyone was spreading the message and doing us proud.

Thank you too to all of the riders who took the time to ask us who we were and what we were doing. Together we can all make a difference in our fight against crime in SA – and what better way to do it, than to do it on a mountain bike in our magnificant country!

This weekend will see 15 mountain bikers riding 100km for the DNA Project in the Houwhoek MTB tour 2012 to raise awareness on the importance of crime scene preservation and passing DNA legislation in South Africa.

Vanessa Lynch with teammates Marina and Francesca training for the Houwhoek

I will be part of the team and will keeping everyone up to date on facebook and twitter, so watch this space and give us your support!

Stage 1 starts in Houwhoek at 08h00 on Saturday 5 May 2012. This stage includes the Lebanon, Thandi, Paul Cluver and Oak Valley single tracks (one being “Pofadder” a 100m wooden roller coaster trail, squeezed between high rocks and a waterfall) and finishes at the Houw Hoek Inn.

Stage 2 starts same time on Sunday 6 May 2012 from the Houw Hoek Inn. The route will take us down the historic Katpass, along the Botriver, on single tracks that link the four historic cottages on Bot river farm, along the Karwyderskraal gravel road.

Team members Gareth and Stuart, hoping this won't happen this weekend!

At the end of this road we get a beautiful view of the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, down the Valley on single tracks, up Hamilton Russel, onto Rotary View Drive to get another stunning view of Walker Bay and the opportunity to stop at the Hamilton Russel Celebration table to have a good glass of wine to celebrate the achievement with our friends!

Catch us in the mountains!

Vanessa and The DNA Project Team

This is our fabulous new cycling shirt designed for us by Marina Brinkmann – anyone wanting to order a shirt to help us raise awareness please contact Maya Moodley on maya@dnaproject.co.za (shirts will be sold at cost price at approximately R420/shirt excl. post and packaging).

The SA Police Services Forensic Services division will be delivering presentations at the UCT Campus on the following days. All talks will take place from 13h00 – 13h45.

Please note that different topics will be focused on during each presentation, and that the same presentation is not going to be repeated on different days.

Wednesday, 2 May: Crime Scene Investigation – LS 2B, Leslie Social Science

**The following topics will be focused on over the following days: Question Documents, Ballistics, Chemistry and Biology (DNA) sections. (We will inform you as soon as we have more details.)

Monday, 7 May – LS 2C, Leslie Social Science

Wednesday, 9 May – LS 2C, Leslie Social Science

Thursday, 10 May – LT 2, Hoerikwaggo

Contact careers.service@uct.ac.za if you require more information.

Friday was an incredible day working on a photo shoot for a part of our DNA awareness campaign – specifically aimed at encouraging rape victims to ask for DNA testing. DNA is an extremely powerful tool in linking rapists to the crime and ensuring a conviction…..bringing closure to the victim and ensuring they are kept behind bars where they cannot harm anyone else.

Jes Foord and Carolyn Hancock (Director, DNA Project)

We worked closely with Jes from The Jes Foord Foundation and Roger and Pat de la Harpe from Africa Imagery. Thank you too to Fran Simmons and Karen Edwards. Watch this space for more exciting developments with this project!

Cape Times, Fri, 20 April 2012

Staff at “over-stretched” forensic science laboratories face “burn-out” after an instruction by the Treasury for the police to cut back on hiring in the coming year.

Lieutenant General Johannes Phahlane, the SA Police Service divisional commissioner for forensic services, told the parliamentary portfolio committee on police on Thursday that staff at forensic science laboratories (FSLs) were stretched to their limits with work.

“With the limited capacity which is there they are over-stretched. It is beginning to impact negatively on us. Among other things we were sourcing overtime out of compensation, but you can’t stretch them [the staff] forever because they are human. They are going to burn out.”

Vanessa Lynch with General Phahlane at the Pretoria FSL

Phahlane said the “resolve” to retain forensic experts would go “down the drain” if the police was not allowed to go ahead with a plan to employ 800 FSL staff.

The police had spent a lot of money on training forensic staff, but risked losing them.

“It has already started happening,” he said.

“Until the end of March my plan was to go and hire people. Then I got the e-mail to say you don’t have this money anymore.

“My question is, how am I supposed to continue improving the environment if I don’t have those resources?”

Acting national police commissioner General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi told MPs he could “imagine” the problems after the Treasury’s decision.

“We will try and engage with them. Unfortunately we have the instruction in black and white.”

Disagreement

SAPS chief financial officer, Lieutenant General Stefan Schutte, said normally 5 000 staff resigned from the service each year.

“If you want to grow you have to appoint more than 5 000,” he said.

“What we will be able to appoint is 1 200 of 5 000, which implies a reduction.”

Committee chairperson Sindi Chikunga said the committee strongly disagreed with the Treasury’s approach.

“We are of the view that FSL must be strengthened. We will do everything possible to look into this matter. It is one area that is specialising in SAPS and we need those services.

“They have a direct impact on the manner in which we will be able to improve our conviction rate.”

Democratic Alliance MP Dianne Kohler Barnard said the Treasury would have to explain itself to the committee.

“I don’t think we can have the Treasury determining that [the] SAPS won’t have the ability to sign on sufficient experts to implement the bills we spend day and night passing. It is absolutely outrageous.”

Parliament, she said, had “jumped through a thousand hoops” to pass various pieces of police legislation, like the fingerprint bill and DNA bill. [note: the DNA Bill has not yet been passed]

MP Dianne Kohler-Barnard said yesterday of the cut of funding to the FSL that she finds it "autocratic and absolutely outrageous" in light of the reality SAPS is facing. Parliament, she said, had "jumped through a thousand hoops" to pass various pieces of police legislation, like the fingerprint bill."

To implement these laws required experts, realignment and new staff, she said.

“I would strongly advise this committee pull in the people who took this decision and ask them to explain themselves. The police have now been hamstrung and cannot implement the bills we have passed. I find this autocratic and absolutely outrageous in face of the reality [the] SAPS is facing.”

– SAPA

New York became the first “all crimes DNA” state in the USA after Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law a bill requiring anyone convicted of a felony or penal law misdemeanor to provide a sample for the state’s DNA Database.

“I am proud to sign this bill today because this modern law enforcement tool will not only help us solve and prevent crimes but also exonerate the innocent,” said Governor Andrew Cuomo in a statement. “The bottom line is that this is a tool that works, and will make the state safer for all New Yorkers.”

Currently, according to The Ithaca Journal, “people found guilty of any felony and 36 misdemeanors — 48 percent of offenders in New York — have to give a DNA sample for the databank.” The new “all crimes” law, which will include misdemeanors like fare-jumping and shoplifting, goes into effect on October 12th of this year.

“This legislation is a major step forward in eliminating wrongful convictions in New York,” said Jonathan Lippman, New York’s chief judge. “The legislation takes an even-handed, balanced approach to this problem, particularly by expanding the access of convicted offenders — not only those convicted after trial, but also those who pleaded guilty — to DNA testing.”

Since its launch in 1996, the DNA Databank has been used in 2,900 convictions and helped exonerate 27 New Yorkers who were wrongfully convicted. Lawmakers in Albany have expanded the database three times– in 1999, 2002, and 2006.

There is an exemption in the new law for those convicted of possession of a small amount of marijuana as long as they have no prior convictions.

Extract of the above Article was taken from

Our crime scene tape has finally arrived!

The purpose of this tape is to provide a physical barrier between the crime scene and non-forensic, non-essential personnel. The reason we have created this tape is to try and ensure that crime scenes are protected from contamination, destruction and disturbance for as long as possible in order for the Crime Scene Investigators to properly collect evidence left at the crime scene before it is destroyed.

As we cannot use official SAPS barrier tape, we have printed 1000 rolls of this ‘non-official’ barrier tape which actually has a functional message and we are hoping, will prevent people from entering crime scenes. It will be issued to CPF’s, paramedics, security companies and non-SAPS first responding officers in an effort to help SECURE the crime scene.

Should you wish to obtain a roll of this tape for the above purposes, please contact Maya Moodley on maya@dnaproject.co.za and she will send you further information.

Vanessa Lynch

DNA Awareness Campaign moves into the Eastern Cape – March 2012

I have just returned from a two day trip to Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape where, in collaboration with Business Against Crime (Eastern Cape), The DNA Project launched its DNA and Crime Scene Awareness campaign into that region. Thanks to BAC (E.C.), Protea Marine Hotel and Berco Express (PE) for their collective contributions and assistance which ensured that this event took place, that all training material was at hand and that we had a wonderful venue to host the DNA Awareness workshops and myself in P.E.

Vanessa Lynch showing Bryan Howard (MD of BAC, EC) an innovative way to teach trainees about DNA

The uptake and enthusiasm of the E.C. community to promote crime scene awareness in their area was phenomenal. This is a pro-active community where even 18 year old girls are willing to patrol their communities to keep criminals off the streets and out of their houses.

The first day was dedicated to training 17 Trainers which included our new DNA Project trainer in the E.C., Mr Lee Ah Kun. A combination of first on crime responders ranging from paramedics and security officers, to traffic officers to SAPS to CPF leaders made up the first group of trainees, all of whom will now inlcude DNA Awareness into their own training protocols. We all learnt a huge amount from each other and the interaction and participation amongst this group was absolutely fantastic.

The next day was dedicated to providing standard DNA Awareness workshops to local CPF’s and I threw our new recruit, Lee into the deep end, making him conduct his first workshop on his own in the second part of the day. Suffice to say, Lee did a great job and is ready to take on the E.C. region to disseminate this vitally important information amongst first on crime scene responders. Lee joins recently appointed Rhys Mccoll (KZN) as one of our two new recent recruits.

Lee Ah Kun conducting his first workshop in P.E.

Should you wish to participate in these DNA Awareness workshops please contact Maya Moodley on maya@dnaproject.co.za and she will send you further information.

Our DNA Awareness workshops are going from strength to strength and just today we received extremely positive feedback from the KZN based, Chatsworth SAPS station, which is testimony to the amazing work our trainers are doing in creating critical crime scene awareness and preservation amongst first on crime scene responders. It is this type of response that makes our work so worthwhile….

1. The Chatsworth Cluster Commander, Brig. K. Nunkumar and the Station Commander,SAPS Chatsworth, Brig. C. F. Marais, would like to take this opportunity to extend their heartfelt gratitude to your organisaton for the workshops organized by Maya Moodley & presented by Dr Carolyn Hancock at SAPS Chatsworth on 7 & 8 March 2012.

2. The workshops were very well presented, interesting and informative.

3. Thank you also for the free booklets, dvds and posters.

4. Further workshops will definitely be requested in the near future, in view of the positive feedback from commanders and members that attended.

5. Once again thank you and God bless for the wonderful and insightful workshops.

BRIGADIER K NUNKUMAR
CLUSTER COMMANDER: CHATSWORTH

Chatsworth SAPS member with one of their 5 new DNA Awareness posters given to them by The DNA Project

Have a good weekend and remember, DNA CSI!

Vanessa Lynch

The following series of emails between certain Members of Parliament and myself, relate to the progress (or lack thereof…) of the Draft DNA Bill through Parliament. I have replaced actual names with MP1 and MP2 which stand for Member of Parliament 1 and 2 – it is irrelevant as to who they are addressed to, so there is no need to publicly point fingers. What is relevant is that as Members’ of Parliament, there exists an obligation to serve the very people who put them in Parliament in the first place – us! It is that obligation, I believe, which compels me to write to these MP’s to remind them that action needs to be taken to properly fulfil this very important duty.

Read on below and decide for yourself what is fact and what is fiction…

Vanessa

From: Vanessa Lynch | DNA Project
Date: 20 February 2012 1:11:01 PM SAST
Subject: DNA draft Bill

Dear MP1

You may have heard about the man who has been arrested in Limpopo as he has been linked to more than 100 rapes. See https://dnaproject.co.za/blog/man-linked-to-100-rapes-with-help-of-dna

With a developed DNA Database, this rapist could have been identified through DNA long before he raped 100 women. Let us look yet again to the failure of our Parliamentary Portfolio Committee to act on the legislation that would give police the ability to immediately begin taking rapists off the street. The legislation sits with this Committee while the worst sexual violence statistics in the world continue to pile up. Except they are not really statistics. They are real people.

The draft DNA Bill has been in Parliament since 2008; the same Committee embarked upon a 2 week, 5 star, business class ‘fact finding tour’ to Canada and the UK last year June, and since that time have not reconvened to deliberate this Bill. 4 years later. Are you aware of this issue and political inertia which results in more women and children being raped in SA every year? If so, do you simply condone it?

I suggest you read the following article for some sobering insight.
I am interested to hear what you have to say about this and whether you are prepared to speak out on this issue?

Best regards

Vanessa Lynch

Founder and Executive Director
The DNA Project
www.dnaproject.co.za
____________________________________________

From: MP1
Sent: 23 February 2012 10:48 AM
To: MP2
Subject: FW: DNA draft Bill

Dear MP2

I enclose for your attention correspondence received by the Parliament Leaders’ Office from Vanessa Lynch.

We believe that this letter would be best addressed by you in your capacity as Shadow Minister of Police.

We have informed the author of the letter that their case is in your hands.
_________________________________________________

Dear MP1,

I have responded to Ms Lynch on numerous occasions. I have asked the secretary of the committee to produce a copy of the proposed legislation over and over again, and there is nothing on the table at this stage. The Glenister judgement will no doubt take precedence over this legislation because of the Constitution Court judgement and deadline.

If Ms Lynch continues to believe after extensive explanations of how the processes work in Parliament that the Police Portfolio Committee takes rape for granted, then she is simply wrong.

I have assured her again and again that the moment a proposed draft is tabled, that I will forward her a copy. I have also informed her that the invaluable information gleaned in Canada and the UK will form the basis for this legislation, and that we did not simply go on a holiday. The manner of our travel is determined by Parliament. We did that trip in June/July last year, not four years ago. I also presented a detailed account of the study tour to our caucus.

The draft bill she refers to was split, because of the national outcry against the DNA section of it. We did, however, manage to pass the section on fingerprints and body prints. The DNA database section is currently in the process of being totally rewritten by the SAPS and Parliamentary legal experts.

Regards,

MP2

________________________________________

Dear MP1

Fact: The Draft DNA Bill has not been put onto the Parliamentary Agenda for 2012.
Fact: The State Legal Advisors have to date not been instructed to draft a DNA Bill following the study tour. I am therefore not sure which SAPS and Parliamentary legal experts MP2 is referring to.
Fact: The only ‘tangible’ document currently existing which relates to DNA legislation is the final report from the study tour last year. No further action has been taken since that time, and if it has, I am not entirely sure what it is!?
Fact: The previous draft Bill was split because the current Committee deemed it too complicated to deal with both issues simultaneously and wanted to go on an international ‘fact finding mission’ to see what other countries were doing with their DNA legislation.
Fact: There was not a ‘national outcry’ on the previous draft DNA Bill. All, save for one, of the public submissions (and I personally listened to each one) submitted to the previous ad Hoc Committee on the first draft DNA Bill were in favour of the Bill. Only POPCRU objected and specifically only to the section which allowed private laboratories to assist with capacity.
Fact: public outcry right now is because of the Committee’s failure to finalise this Bill. The attached timeline clearly shows that following the adoption of the fingerprint section of the Bill in 2010, besides the ‘fact finding’ tour, nothing further has been done.
Fact: The Secreteriat for the Minister of Police has been assuring us, much the same as the Committee, that this Bill remains a priority (a relative term!) and that a policy document is being compiled upon which the new Bill will be drafted. Each week there is yet another promise that this ‘policy document’ will be sent to us for comment. This is the end of another week, and still no policy document. Still no Bill.
Fact: With a developed DNA Database, serial rapists can be identified through DNA preventing them from raping more women and children as the case may be.
Fact: This legislation sits with this Committee while the worst sexual violence statistics in the world continue to pile up. Except they are not really statistics.
Fact: They are real people.
Fact: Parliamentary ‘assurances’ remain empty promises to these and future victims.

Solution: pressure needs to be put to bear on the Minister of Police to urgently complete and sign off the “policy document” in order that the state legal advisors may start drafting the new DNA Bill and there needs to be parliamentary confirmation that this Bill will be reviewed by the Committee at the very least by April 2012. A full year should not be allowed to have passed between the “invaluable information gleaned in Canada and the UK that will form the basis for this legislation..” and the Committee’s review of the draft DNA legislation. We all know that important details are often lost with the passage of time and I can hardly imagine that this does not apply to all of our esteemed MP’s!!

With all due respect, we need to ensure that constant pressure is applied on the Committee’s Chair to compel her to stand by the final recommendation of the previous ad Hoc Committee which clearly stated that:

“The importance of the Bill in the fight against crime cannot be overemphasized. The Committee is totally committed to the fight against crime and view it as an absolute priority.

The Committee recommends that the next Parliament consider this Bill as a matter of urgency.” (Ad Hoc Committee, 23 March 2009)

My question is, do you think it is reasonable that “urgency” has been interpreted by the current Portfolio Committee as being a period of three years later?

MP2 is not being blamed. I wrote to you, MP1 because I think you can put additional pressure on the Committee by speaking out and ensuring that this Bill is not simply allowed to be passed over continuously for other “urgent” matters. The Shadow Minister for the Police, surely can also put pressure on the Secretariat for Police to complete the elusive ‘policy document’ so at the very least, the state legal advisors can start drafting a DNA Bill. In that way, by the time the Committee is ready for ‘action’ the draft Bill at best will be ready.

Best regards
Vanessa Lynch

___________________

And this is how it ended:

MP2: The Parliamentary Agenda changes regularly – it is not fixed. There are items on the other Committees’ agenda which are listed there because they remain a priority.
MP2: My information is that the drafting of this Bill has been left with them – I have no knowledge of the time it will take them to complete this Bill and various others.

VL RESPONSE: They have no knowledge of this instruction because it does not exist. If it does, please send me the name of the state legal advisor tasked with the drafting of the new Bill.

MP2: We as a committee did not ‘deem it too complicated to deal with simultaneously’…we got through the relatively uncontroversial sections, an needed extensive knowledge to deal with the highly technical inputs which rejected the DNA database on human rights issues. VL RESPONSE: And we are now waiting for that extensive knowledge to be put to good use!
MP2: It seems you missed the anti-submissions by the Medical Rights Advocacy Network, and by Mary de Haas, lawyers such as Martin Hood etc – all of whom pointed to what they believe was the unconstitutionality of this suggestion.

VL RESPONSE: The submissions you refer to were late written submissions not referred to in the  oral proceedings. Yes, I have a copy of these written submissions, which centre largely around the taking of samples by police.

MP2: I am unaware of any outcry that this Bill has yet to be processed.

VL RESPONSE:How shortsighted MP2 – please attend one of our many workshops, listen to the radio/tv interviews, read the press and hear and see what people  have to say about your Committees’ performance on this Bill to date. It’s a combination of disbelief and disgust.  The editor of the Saturday Star headed his editorial about the failure of your Committee to act as: ‘Raped again – by the system’ and ended it by saying ‘How long do our women and children have to wait for justice?’….

MP2:  I am aware that the Glenister judgement deadline is looming, and that the focus must first be on that Bill rather than risk being in contempt.

MP2:     I am fully aware of the benefits of such a database – although I believe that the ANC may not want to allow ie familial searches and to in many ways water down the UK model in favour of the Canadian model.

MP2:   I am more than willing to put yet another question through to the Minister asking for a timeline.

VL RESPONSE: Thank you. I believe that a definitive plan needs to be announced – without a stated intention, there remains no commitment and no accountability.