DNA on Felony Arrest

All 50 states and the federal government currently have passed legislation to collect DNA on felony conviction. That is not enough! It is critically important that DNA be collected on arrest.
SPC members are working hard to ensure that all 50 states enact legislation to mandate collection of DNA on arrest. Currently, 21 states (See map and chart below) have passed some form of DNA on felony arrest legislation. We all need to work together to encourage the remaining 29 states to follow suit.

Is this Constitutional?

The DNA profile in CODIS, the forensic DNA database absolutely DOES NOT have any information on the individuals’ medical or psychological history. It does not reveal the race. There is no private health information. It is only a unique identification tool for law enforcement; much more exact than fingerprints or mugshots. Federal courts have determined DNA collected by law enforcement is only for identification and citizens are required to identify themselves to law enforcement officers. It is not a violation of a person's right to privacy. Collection of DNA by swabbing the inside of a person's cheek is less invasive and inconvenient than taking finger and palm prints. On a felony arrest, the officer has already established "probable cause." It is not "an unreasonable search and seizure" and should not require a search warrant from a judge. It is the modern day fingerprint.
The US District Court in California on May 27th, 2009 upheld the constitutionality of expanding the collection of DNA to those who have been arrested. This will be very encouraging to those states where there were concerns of constitutionality.

Why collect DNA on ALL felony arrests?

Collecting DNA on felony arrests allows law enforcement to gain information on the possibility of the suspect being involved in other crimes. If a suspect is arrested for a rape, it would be incredibly inefficient to wait until that person is convicted for the rape before collecting and processing the DNA only to find out that their DNA matches the DNA evidence from multiple rape victims. Currently, many of our court systems are so backed up that the conviction could take years. A victim deserves to get answers as soon as possible. Delays in prosecution and investigation of the other crimes the person may have been involved in will cost money, time and pain. It could result in mistrials, cases being dropped, loss of witnesses, loss of evidence, and in some cases, statute of limitations expiring. No plea bargains should be struck until the DNA has been input into CODIS. Timing is critical. It can also exonerate the innocent.
Studies show there is a 40% chance that burglaries and other non-violent crimes are being committed by someone who has already committed violent crimes, perhaps even murder. If they haven't, there is an 80% chance that they eventually will commit a violent crime. That means 40% of these non-violent crime scenes could have evidence that would lead us to a match with evidence from a serious assault, rape or murder. It is important that our laws allow us to collect DNA from ALL FELONY arrests. We need to use this to our advantage and start balancing the scales of justice.

Can States afford to expand DNA testing now?

States can't afford not to collect DNA on Felony Arrest! It is shortsighted to not recognize how much money will be saved. Some states, to help with costs, have added fees to parking tickets and to criminal fines in order to create long term funding sources. Federal funding is available to assist states and to help increase the size of DNA laboratories. Funding is also available to help with backlogs. Keep in mind, although initially many more DNA samples will be collected, most of the suspects arrested are repeat offenders. So the increase will be temporary and then decline, as will the number of crimes being committed. Again, investigation times, prosecution time and court time will be reduced. It will result in an incredible savings.

21 States Have Passed The Law

Join the SPC in advocating for this important public safety legislation in your state.

For more information about DNA go to: www.dnaresource.com www.dnasaves.org www.dna.gov.

For studies showing the effectiveness of DNA go to:
http://www.denverda.org/DNA/DNA_Arrestee_Database_Cases.htm

For other studies go to:
http://www.denverda.org/DNA/Forensic_DNA_Articles.htm Number 33 is of particular importance.