There are no criminals in my family

Criminals are “other people.” But: have you ever eaten items while supermarket shopping, exceeded the speed limit, dropped litter in the street? These are crimes, but rarely would we be confronted over these actions. Many people would argue that these are small and insignificant issues. Indeed, surely someone who stole food would probably be someone who is hungry. Between 1788 and 1868, more than 162,000 convicts were transported from the UK to Australia for what we would now probably consider very petty crimes. Morality therefore seems to be on a continuum. However, the interplay between labelling, ethics and the law emerges. Why do we find criminality intriguing? Many of us watch detective and true crime stories on the television. If you had criminals in your tree, would you reveal that information? How much do/ would you reveal about people labelled as criminals on your tree? All/ some/ none? Is there a difference between the information you have discovered and is in your files, and that which is revealed in an online tree?

Compiling your family history has changed radically since the use of direct-to-consumer DNA tests. We now have faster access to biological relatives’ and ancestors’ information online. Data available in GEDmatch can often identify a 3rd cousin or closer in 90% of the population. Investigative genetic genealogy is the emerging practice of using genetic information from direct-to-consumer companies for identifying suspects or victims in criminal cases. If you DNA was a key factor in apprehending a serious criminal, would you feel pleased or guilty? Where does loyalty to a relative start/ stop? This session will conclude by discussing some of the ethical dilemmas emerging from finding criminals in your family.