Qld minister ‘kept in dark over DNA lab’ by own police

Queensland Police Minister Mark Ryan says he was kept in the dark for more than six months while senior police were raising serious concerns that the state’s DNA lab was missing vital ­evidence.

Queensland Police Minister Mark Ryan. Picture: NCA NewsWire/John Gass

Queensland Police Minister Mark Ryan says he was kept in the dark for more than six months while senior police were raising serious concerns that the state’s DNA lab was missing vital ­evidence.

Mr Ryan on Sunday said he wasn’t formally briefed on problems in the lab until June 6, the day his government announced a $6m commission of inquiry into forensic DNA testing.

When asked why he hadn’t pushed earlier for briefings – when major problems in the lab had been aired publicly and prominently since the previous year – he blamed police, saying they had plenty of opportunities to fill him in. “I was disappointed that that was not briefed up. I wasn’t briefed, but I should have been,” he said.

His failure to get across the issue raises serious questions on his oversight of his portfolio.

Major problems with the DNA lab hit the headlines in November last year when forensic scientist Kirsty Wright called for the lab to be shut down.

Dr Kirsty Wright. Picture: NewsWire/Sarah Marshall

Inspector David Neville. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

Dr Wright detected systemic failures in the lab while investi­gating the unsolved murder in Mackay of 23-year-old Shandee Blackburn, with journalist Hedley Thomas for The Australian’s ­podcast Shandee’s Story.

Almost immediately after these stories were published, the head of police DNA management, Inspector David Neville, was raising concerns with the health department-run lab.

According to a ministerial briefing note, prepared by Inspector Neville in February but never sent, investigators working on ­another murder were aware of the news coverage about the lab and shared their unease about results in their own case.

Ten critical items in that case, including a used condom, were reported as “DNA insufficient for further testing” but each generated a profile after investigators asked the lab to take another look.

“Due to the sustained criticism in the media and the results from the (name redacted) case, in ­December 2021 the QPS undertook an internal review,” Inspector Neville wrote.

By mid-December, police were aware that about a third of samples declared “DNA insufficient” by the lab were producing profiles when fully tested.

In February, Dr Wright revealed criminals were better off in Queensland because the lab was requiring samples to have an ­unusually high level of DNA to progress to profiling.

She had found this alarming fact buried in an overlooked scientific paper.

The following month, The Australian reported that Dr Wright had lodged an explosive complaint with the Crime and Corruption Commission alleging the lab had engaged in systemic dishonest conduct.

Police have discovered a disturbingly high 66 per cent of ­sexual assault samples reported as “DNA insufficient” later yielded profiles when tested.

Responding to questions from The Australian, Mr Ryan said he was “formally made aware” on June 2 of problems at the lab and “formally briefed” on June 6.

“In preparing for parliament, I regularly get information from my agencies about issues that are in the media,” he said.

“There were a number of ­opportunities for the matter to be briefed up, and I wasn’t briefed.”

A separate executive briefing note and a letter under the hand of police commissioner Katarina Carroll – both written and sub­mitted by Inspector Neville in February – were withdrawn by a superintendent, the inquiry has been told.

Mr Ryan declined to say why that occurred.

“I asked the question. I got an answer. I expressed my dis­appointment about it,” he said.