Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39874882›Full record

ArticleForensic science international2025

FIGG at 5: An update on U.S. public perspectives on forensic investigative genetic genealogy five years after its introduction to criminal investigations.

Christi J Guerrini, Jill O Robinson, Mohamed I Elsaid, Whitney Bash Brooks, Ariel Levchenko, Stephanie M Fullerton, Sara Huston, Norah L Crossnohere, John F P Bridges, Jacklyn M Dahlquist and 4 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Forensic science international, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Legislation for forensic investigative genetic genealogy in Sweden.Forensic science international. Synergy · 2025
    Article
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors.

Christi J GuerriniCenter for Medical Ethics and Health Policy, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA. Electronic address: guerrini@bcm.edu.
Jill O RobinsonCenter for Medical Ethics and Health Policy, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
Mohamed I ElsaidDepartment of Biomedical Informatics, College of Medicine, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH, USA; Center for Biostatistics, College of Medicine, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH, USA; Division of Medical Oncology, College of Medicine, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH, USA.
Whitney Bash BrooksCenter for Medical Ethics and Health Policy, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
Ariel LevchenkoCenter for Medical Ethics and Health Policy, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
Stephanie M FullertonDepartment of Bioethics and Humanities, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA.
Sara HustonMary Ann & J. Milburn Smith Child Health Outcomes, Research, and Evaluation Center, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA; Department of Pediatrics, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
Norah L CrossnohereDepartment of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH, USA.
John F P BridgesDepartment of Biomedical Informatics, College of Medicine, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH, USA.
Jacklyn M DahlquistDepartment of Bioethics and Humanities, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA.
Louiza KalokairinouCenter for Medical Ethics and Health Policy, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
Diana MaddenMary Ann & J. Milburn Smith Child Health Outcomes, Research, and Evaluation Center, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
CeCe MooreParabon NanoLabs, Reston, VA, USA.
Amy L McGuireCenter for Medical Ethics and Health Policy, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.

Funding

IGG on the Internet: Characterizing Public Perspectives on Law Enforcement Use of Genetic Genealogy Data in Social MediaR01HG011268 · NHGRI · BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE · PI GUERRINI, CHRISTI, MCGUIRE, AMY L · 2020 to 2023
$2.4M
NHGRI NIH HHS R01 HG011268
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

In 2018, after law enforcement announced it had used a technique called forensic investigative genetic genealogy (FIGG) to identify the Golden State Killer, we conducted a U.S. general population survey and found most respondents supported using FIGG to solve violent crimes. Since then, FIGG has helped close hundreds of criminal cases, but it also has weathered controversies. On FIGG's fifth anniversary, we conducted an expanded, follow-up survey with U.S.-based participants to determine if public opinion had changed and found continued support for FIGG across most applications. The same proportion (91 %) of respondents in the 2018 and 2023 surveys endorsed using FIGG in genetic genealogy databases to help identify perpetrators of violent crimes. Similar to the 2018 survey, only 57 % of respondents supported FIGG to help identify perpetrators of non-violent crimes. The results indicate that U.S. policies that have been adopted for FIGG are generally consistent with the opinions of our survey respondents over time. Nonetheless, there are opportunities to strengthen FIGG governance with the goal of maintaining public trust in the technique.

Indexed as

DNA FingerprintingForensic GeneticsPedigreePublic OpinionAdultCrimeFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedSurveys and QuestionnairesUnited StatesForensic genetic genealogyForensic investigative genetic genealogyInvestigative genetic genealogyPublic opinionPublic policy

Identifiers

PMID39874882
PMCPMC12151333

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.