Methods
The very first method of DNA fingerprinting and profiling developed by Jeffreys involved collecting DNA by extracting and purifying it from a sample which was then used in tandem with a method known as restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) (Zagorski, 2006).

Current techniques are based on PCR due to its higher sensitivity, speed and precision. The technique uses a panel of different but carefully selected number of short tandem repeats (STR) as markers due to their short repeating patterns and also their similarity in terms of structure to the minisatellites found in the sub-telomeric region of chromosomes (Roewer, 2013). In comparison to the original RFLP analysis, current STR analysis methods do not involve the use of restriction enzymes to cut the DNA at required sites due to the already small length of the DNA markers (Murnaghan, 2014).

STR markers are extracted from the non-coding regions of DNA samples and amplified using PCR, after which a traditional gel electrophoresis is carried out in order to determine the length of the repeats within the DNA. This is an effective method of identification due to the high variability in STR presence, sequence and length amongst individuals, which can then be used to find a match in a database of stored fingerprint information (Butler, 2007).