Samenvatting

This article describes why forensic DNA research is so interesting for criminal investigation processes, and why DNA does not yet play the role in these processes that could be expected given its unique properties. To this end, the bottlenecks that arise in the forensic investigation process are discussed as well as the opportunities to solve these bottlenecks in the coming years with new technologies and new scientific insights. The article focuses on (1) finding biological traces, (2) determining the relevance and the success rate of these traces, (3) the learning process of criminal investigators, (4) the importance of integrating processes that are currently performed in different places by different professionals, and (5) the promises of rapid mobile DNA technologies in this development.