Latest news with #forensicevidence
Telegraph
06-08-2025
- Telegraph
Football hooligans to be sprayed by police with DNA tagging mist
A DNA tagging spray is to be used by police on football fans to prevent disorder at matches. SelectaDNA marks skin and clothing with an invisible solution that remains present for months and shows up under UV light. It provides forensic evidence to link individuals to a specific crime or event. It is being rolled out by UK police forces, including Cheshire Constabulary, which will become the first to equip officers with the spray at all League Two games in the region following an initial trial at Crewe Alexandra's home defeat to Port Vale in March. The rollout begins on Saturday at Crewe's opening home game of the season against Accrington Stanley. It will come less than a month after the latest football disorder statistics showed an 18 per cent increase in the number of matches with reported incidents across England and Wales. Police hope the tool will act as a deterrent to those participating in any anti-social behaviour or disorder before, during and after matches, as well as letting those involved know that they will be sprayed with a solution that will link them back to the scene of a crime. The football scheme forms part of Operation Shield, a force-wide initiative in which SelectaDNA Intruder Spray kits will be installed at a number of business premises and shops across the county with the aim of deterring burglars and thieves. The operation is being led by Chief Superintendent Gareth Wrigley, who said: 'Here at Cheshire Constabulary, we're committed to doing all that we can to make the county a safer place for everyone, including football fans, and we'll use all the resources available to us to help achieve our goal. 'When it comes to football, we already have a number of measures in place to keep fans safe and the DNA tagging kits are just another tool in our belt. 'Starting from this weekend we'll be equipping our football officers with the spray whenever they are policing any League Two matches in the county. 'While we'd much prefer not to have to use the spray, if required the officers will be able to use it to tag any offenders, with a uniquely-coded but invisible DNA that will provide forensic evidence to link them to any offences. 'I'm hoping this tool also provides the local communities across Cheshire with the reassurance they need that our officers are doing all they can to keep fans and residents safe regardless of the result at the final whistle.' Cheshire Constabulary is led by Chief Constable Mark Roberts, the National Police Chiefs' Council Lead for Football Policing – the UK's most senior football police officer. He said: 'I'm delighted to see that Cheshire Constabulary is leading the way with the rollout of this new tool. 'We know that the vast majority of football fans are law abiding, but unfortunately on occasions there are some who are intent on causing disorder, which is why a strong policing operation is essential. 'I'm confident that this new tool will make a real difference, by helping to identify and deter the criminals who attend football matches here in Cheshire.'
New York Times
13-05-2025
- New York Times
After 38 Years in Prison for Murder, British Man Is Freed by New DNA Evidence
A British man who served 38 years in prison for murder had his conviction overturned on Tuesday after forensic evidence from the crime scene was tested and found not to match his DNA. The man, Peter Sullivan, 68, is thought to be the victim of the country's longest miscarriage of justice involving a living prisoner. The judgment follows the emergence of several other wrongful convictions in recent years, casting a shadow over the reputation of Britain's criminal justice system and raising grave questions about the credibility of the appeals process. Mr. Sullivan was imprisoned after the killing in August 1986 of Diane Sindall, 21, who suffered a frenzied sexual attack in Birkenhead, near Liverpool, as she made her way home from a pub where she also worked. After DNA evidence was presented in the case, the Court of Appeal overturned Mr. Sullivan's conviction. 'In the light of that evidence, it is impossible to regard the appellant's conviction as safe,' said Timothy Holroyde, one of three judges presiding over the hearing. 'We quash the conviction,' he added, ordering that Mr. Sullivan be released from custody. Appearing via a video link from prison in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, Mr. Sullivan broke down in tears and held his hand over his mouth as he was told he would be freed, the BBC reported. In a statement read by his lawyer, Sarah Myatt, on his behalf after the ruling, Mr. Sullivan said, 'What happened to me was very wrong, but it does not detract or minimize that all of this happened off the back of a heinous and most terrible loss of life.' He added: 'I am not angry; I am not bitter. I am simply anxious to return to my loved ones and family as I've got to make the most of what is left of the existence I am granted in this world.' Mr. Sullivan's wrongful imprisonment will most likely intensify the debate over the reliability of Britain's Criminal Cases Review Commission, which is responsible for investigating possible miscarriages of justice. In 2023, Andrew Malkinson, who spent 17 years in prison for a rape he did not commit, was freed after years of protesting his innocence. James Burley, who led the investigation into Mr. Malkinson's case by a charity, Appeal, said in a statement on Tuesday, 'Peter Sullivan's exoneration today after nearly four decades of wrongful imprisonment provides further evidence that our current appeals system cannot be trusted to swiftly identify and rectify miscarriages of justice.' Ms. Sindall, who was a florist and was engaged to be married, was attacked while walking to a gas station in Bebington, Merseyside, after her van broke down just after midnight. Twelve hours later, Ms. Sindall's body was discovered by a member of the public in an alleyway with extensive injuries. The cause of death was established as a cerebral hemorrhage following multiple blows. The hunt for her killer gained nationwide attention and, because of the brutality of the assault, tabloid newspapers referred to Mr. Sullivan after his conviction as the 'Beast of Birkenhead.' Mr. Sullivan applied in 2008 for his case to be reviewed by the Criminal Cases Review Commission, but his application was rejected. He applied for permission to appeal in 2019, but that, too, was turned down. After another application was lodged in 2021, the commission decided that, because of technological advances, it was worth testing the semen samples preserved from the crime scene in 1986. They did not match Mr. Sullivan's DNA. The police, who have since reopened their investigation into the case, say that more than 260 other men have since been screened and eliminated from their inquiry. 'Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Diane Sindall who continue to mourn her loss and will have to endure the implications of this new development so many years after her murder,' Detective Chief Superintendent Karen Jaundrill of the Merseyside Police said in a statement on Tuesday. 'We are committed to doing everything within our power to find whom the DNA, which was left at the scene, belongs to.' After his arrest, Mr. Sullivan was initially denied legal representation and confessed to the murder before retracting it. He has long protested his innocence, a factor that makes it harder to get parole. In a statement, the Criminal Cases Review Commission said that 'the new DNA evidence that has led to Mr. Sullivan's conviction being quashed could not have been available when we first considered his case,' which, it said, justified its decision not to send this case back to the courts in 2008. It added, 'However, we do regret that we were not able to identify Mr. Sullivan's conviction as a potential miscarriage of justice in our first review.'
