FDC FDC DNA Databases & CODIS 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What type of CODIS match links a forensic profile to a known offender profile?
- Case-to-case hit
- Offender hit
- Suspect hit
- Cold hit (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Cold hit
A 'cold hit' occurs when a forensic profile matches an offender profile in the database with no prior investigative connection.
Question 2: Which index in CODIS contains DNA profiles of individuals arrested but not yet convicted?
- Offender Index
- Forensic Index
- Arrestee Index (Correct answer)
- Suspect Index
Correct answer: Arrestee Index
The Arrestee Index contains DNA profiles collected from individuals arrested for qualifying offenses under applicable state or federal law.
Question 3: What action is required when a CODIS offender match is made but the offender has since been exonerated?
- The profile may remain for investigative use
- The profile must be expunged from CODIS (Correct answer)
- The profile is moved to the forensic index
- No action is required until a conviction is obtained
Correct answer: The profile must be expunged from CODIS
Federal law requires that DNA profiles of individuals who are exonerated or whose charges are dropped be expunged from CODIS.
Question 4: Which CODIS index specifically helps identify missing persons and unidentified human remains?
- Forensic Index
- Missing Person Index
- Unidentified Remains Index
- Both Missing Person and Unidentified Remains Indexes (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Both Missing Person and Unidentified Remains Indexes
CODIS contains both the Missing Person Reference Index (from relatives) and the Unidentified Human Remains Index to facilitate cross-matching.
Question 5: What is required before a DNA laboratory can upload profiles to NDIS?
- Completion of 100 successful cases
- Meeting Quality Assurance Standards and passing an external audit (Correct answer)
- Approval from the state attorney general
- FBI training certification for all analysts
Correct answer: Meeting Quality Assurance Standards and passing an external audit
Laboratories must meet the FBI's Quality Assurance Standards and pass an external audit before being authorized to upload profiles to NDIS.
Question 6: A 'case-to-case' CODIS hit occurs when:
- An offender profile matches a crime scene profile
- Two forensic profiles from different cases match each other (Correct answer)
- A missing person profile matches unidentified remains
- An arrestee profile matches a victim's profile
Correct answer: Two forensic profiles from different cases match each other
A case-to-case hit links two unsolved crime scene profiles to each other, suggesting a common source even without a known suspect.
FDC FDC DNA Databases & CODIS 2
What type of CODIS match links a forensic profile to a known offender profile?