Interpol starts cooperation with NFI
This morning, Ron K. Noble, Secretary General of Interpol, announced that Interpol will start using the Bonaparte software tool that was developed partly by the Netherlands Forensic Institute. This software tool will make the identification of missing persons faster and more reliable. Bonaparte was developed in close cooperation with the NFI by SMART Research BV, a spin-off of SNN Adaptive Intelligence and affiliated to Radboud University Nijmegen. The deployment of Bonaparte is part of a broader cooperation between Interpol and the NFI.
Noble announced the deployment of Bonaparte during his opening speech at the International DNA Users’ Conference for Investigative Officers in Lyon. He also explained that Interpol is always looking for high-quality technical support, as DNA technology is being developed continuously. Noble visited the NFI last week to discuss this. Interpol also intends to cooperate closely with the NFI in other areas.
“From my point of view, this cooperation is a logical step, because the NFI – just like Interpol – believes in the necessity of continuous innovation, and tries to increase forensic expertise and skills of countries around the world,” said Noble. Talks about further cooperation are currently being held.
Tjark Tjin-A-Tsoi, Chief Executive Officer of the NFI, called the cooperation between Interpol and the NFI “an example of the growing internationalization of the forensic domain and the position taken up by the NFI internationally.”
Cooperation also important to the Dutch National Police
Pieter Jaap Aalbersberg, Dutch member of the Executive Committee of Interpol and also chief officer of the Amsterdam-Amstelland police unit, emphasised that cooperation between Interpol and the NFI is also of great importance to the National Police. He explained: “Global harmonisation of standards is a must for international police cooperation. The innovative products of the NFI are of great value to this.”
Familial DNA searching procedure possible
Bonaparte enables Interpol for the first time to carry out familial DNA searching procedures. Noble emphasised the importance of Bonaparte with the example of the investigation into the identity of Maria, the blond girl that was found in a Greek Roma camp a few weeks ago. “In this investigation into the identity of Maria, we asked our Member States to provide us with the DNA profiles of persons who claimed to be Maria’s relatives. Unfortunately, we were not able to compare these DNA profiles ourselves, because it is not possible to carry out a familial DNA searching procedure in our own DNA system. This will change when we link up with the NFI and Bonaparte. From now on, we will be able to identify missing persons on the basis of the DNA of their relatives in our own DNA system. This is a method of identification that has more than proved its worth,” explained Ron K. Noble.
Faster and more reliable identification process
Bonaparte has been developed to simplify the identification of people by making it possible to carry out large-scale and very reliable familial DNA searching procedures fast. Bonaparte can immediately match the DNA of victims with entire families. In a disaster with more than a hundred victims, it takes Bonaparte only a few minutes to calculate all the matches. Among other things, the NFI have used the software for the identification of victims of the airplane crash in Tripoli.