Krissy Marrinan
Forensics
December 1st 2013
Current Events
DNA
and Human Trafficking
Chris Asplen
In this article, Chris Asplen talks about DNA and how it
has benefited the criminal justice system. Asplen explains how DNA is used to
solve cold cases and help the Innocence Project; a project where they release
wrongfully convicted people. He also goes into detail how human trafficking has
gotten worse and that the process has become similar to that of booking a trip
to “Disneyland”. Asplen explains that
having DNA as a resource will help put a stop to trafficking because it gives
the victims, a little encouragement and safety, to use their voice to stand up
against their abusers. By supporting the victims, police have the chance to
start to understand the patterns of the traffickers and possibly identify some
of the criminals. Asplen hopes that somehow DNA will put and end to human
trafficking and all injustice that has previously happened.
The
information in this article really opened my eyes to the possibility that human
trafficking could come to screeching halt if DNA could play a role in capturing
the horrible criminals. “At a profit margin of $32 billion a year,
second in magnitude only to trafficking of illegal drugs, as many as 27 million
men, women, and children are victims of modern slavery”. From this quote, it is
clear that human trafficking is a real problem, and somehow needs to stop.
Young teenage girls are the target for human trafficking and this effect many
of us, because we all know someone who is a young teen, and realizing that
someone her age is going through this is horrifying.
Though
I agree with much of what Chris Asplen is writing, I though some of the points
that he was making were not connected to what I originally thought the article
was going to be about, so it mislead me a little bit. But overall I really thought that Asplen made
a compelling argument to why DNA could really put a dent in human trafficking.
http://www.forensicmag.com/articles/2013/08/dna-and-human-trafficking#.UptWD6Wn3wI
Asplen, Chris. "Forensic Magazine." Forensic Magazine., 28 Aug. 2013. Web. 01 Dec. 2013.