The New Zealand Centre for Public Law at Victoria University of Wellington School of Law
invite you to a public lecture:

Collection and Retention of DNA from Suspects in New Zealand
Presented by
Dr. Liz Campbell and Dr. Nessa Lynch

Forensic analysis of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is now integral to the prevention, detection and prosecution of crime in New Zealand. The collection and retention of DNA by the State was given statutory basis by the Criminal Investigation (Blood Samples) Act 1995, which is now, after major reforms in 2003 and 2009, referred to as the Criminal Investigation (Bodily Samples) Act. Despite the fact that many thousands of samples are surrendered by, or compulsorily acquired from, suspects in New Zealand every year, and that the scope of the power to acquire samples has markedly expanded in recent years, there is a paucity of legal commentary on the issue in the New Zealand context.
The focus of this lecture is the scope of the power to acquire DNA from suspects in New Zealand, but the discussion is informed by comparative analysis. It is widely acknowledged that the collection of DNA from a suspect involves a significant intrusion on individual rights such the right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure. The question then becomes whether the intrusion is justified given the societal interest in the prevention, detection and prosecution of crime and, whether it is reasonable.

Dr. Nessa Lynch is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Law, Victoria University of Wellington. She teaches and researches in the areas of youth justice, criminal law and sentencing. She has published nationally and internationally, and her book Youth Justice in New Zealand was published in 2013. She was recently the recipient of a VUW Early Career Research Excellence Award.

Dr. Liz Campbell is senior lecturer in criminal law and evidence at the University of Edinburgh. Her principal area of research is criminal law/justice, with a particular interest in the legal responses to organised crime, DNA databases, and the presumption of innocence. Liz has published widely, and her monograph Organised Crime and the Law: A Comparative Analysis was published by Hart in 2013.