Nothing but the truth
Irene Jones, 75, once appeared in court as a witness in a small town in Wales. A local lawyer spoke to Mrs. Jones first. ‘Do you know who I am?’ he asked.
Mrs. Jones said that she had known him since he was small. She told the court that she had babysat for him for many years. Then she told the lawyer that he was a big disappointment to her, and to many other people in the town. She said he was always saying nasty things about the people there. She told him that he couldn’t run his law business properly. Last of all, she said that nobody in that town would ever marry him.
The shocked lawyer pointed to the judge. ‘Do you know him too?’ he asked. The judge saw Mrs. Jones starting to speak. ‘Silence in court!’ he yelled. Mrs. Jones is my mother, and if anyone asks her what she knows about me, I will send them to prison!’

Catching criminals the DNA way
Professor Alec Jeffries discovered the technique of DNA fingerprinting in 1985, while he was working in his laboratory. Professor Jeffries was incredibly excited by his discovery, as he could immediately see its importance.
DNA fingerprinting finds patterns in a person’s DNA which are unique to that person. Although this discovery is still relatively recent, it has already revolutionized our justice system, as it can be used to find out if a suspect is innocent or guilty. In Britain, DNA tests were used for the first time in a criminal case in 1986. A man had been found guilty of murder. Nevertheless, later DNA tests proved him to be innocent. Then the real murderer was discovered, using more DNA tests!
In today’s criminal investigations, the DNA of a suspect’s blood is almost always compared to evidence from the crime scene. DNA fingerprinting is now frequently used as evidence in court. In fact, it is now very unusual for judges to hear cases where no DNA evidence is used!

Look into my eyes
Three professors at Cambridge University first developed the technique of iris recognition. In 1994, they invented computer software which could ‘read’ the iris – the colored part of the eye – to identify a person. It works because everybody’s irises are unique and they do not change.
Although it is very new and expensive, people are beginning to use iris recognition to prevent crime and identify criminals. For example, one US prison introduced iris recognition in order to be able to check that no prisoners had escaped. Banks worldwide have introduced it to stop criminals stealing from other people’s bank accounts. And some international airlines have installed it since the 2001 terrorist attacks in New York.
One American businessman, who flies regularly, said that it was a great technique. He added that it was much safer than passports or ID cards. ‘And you can’t leave your eyes on the plane by accident!’ he joked. Experts predict that we will all be using iris recognition in our everyday lives in the near future.