Quand la science traque les criminels

Directed by

Tilman Jens

Written by

Tilman Jens

Produced by

© Hessischer Rundfunk - ARTE

Documentary, Germany, 2014, 52 min

Hightech in criminal investigation : in the crime series CSI no sequel is possible without it. But hightech also enters the reality of criminal investigation; the perfect crime could become almost impossible.

The so-called Virtobot, a robot that can do MRI and other scans of a human body is used to scan dead bodies so that autopsies won't be necessary any more. Also the DNA analysis that is omnipresent in any crime sequel is making big progress in reality : thanks to the PCR metho that is able to multiply DNA, already smallest amounts of DNA are enough to identify a criminal.

Crimes that have remained unsolved for decades can be solved now. And dutch scientists even go one step further : they have developed a method that can read directly out of the DNA the age, hair and eye color of a person. The film analyses new developments in forensic science and investigation worldwide and shows their consequences ; for investigation but also for the privacy of each citizen.

Debate with :

• Bettina Oberhauser, hr, author of the film
• Norbert Fleury, Specialized Police Officer Technical and Scientific
• Dr Philippe Charlier, Team of medical anthropology and forensic Faculty of Health Sciences (UVSQ / AP -HP)

Know more

More information (in French) about scientific police here.