After Ontario Provincial Police charged a man in a string of historic sex assaults in Southwestern Ontario, the force’s deputy commissioner sent a message to perpetrators of unsolved sex crimes: We’re coming for you.

Advances in in DNA technology, specifically investigative genetic genealogy (IGG), will play a key role in solving cold cases and bringing justice to victims, Deputy Commissioner Marty Kearns said at a recent news conference.

But what is IGG and why are privacy advocates sounding the alarm on its rising use among Ontario police forces?

How does it work?

IGG, also known as forensic genetic genealogy, involves taking a DNA sample – blood, saliva or human tissue – from a crime scene and running it through private-sector DNA databases, such as GEDmatch or FamilyTreeDNA, to i

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