Law enforcement officials are vastly expanding their collection of DNA to include millions more people who have been arrested or detained but not yet convicted. The move, intended to help solve more crimes, is raising concerns about the privacy of petty offenders and people who are presumed innocent. But starting this month, the Federal Bureau of Investigation will join 15 states that collect DNA samples from those awaiting trial and will collect DNA from detained immigrants β the vanguard of a growing class of genetic registrants.
The F. Law enforcement officials say that expanding the DNA databanks to include legally innocent people will help solve more violent crimes. They point out that DNA has helped convict thousands of criminals and has exonerated more than wrongfully convicted people. But criminal justice experts cite Fourth Amendment privacy concerns and worry that the nation is becoming a genetic surveillance society.
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Cops and prosecutors like it because it gives everybody more information and creates a new suspect pool. DNA extraction upon arrest potentially erodes that argument, a recent Congressional study found. Minors are required to provide DNA samples in 35 states upon conviction, and in some states upon arrest. Three juvenile suspects in November filed the only current constitutional challenge against taking DNA at the time of arrest.
The judge temporarily stopped DNA collection from the three youths, and the case is continuing. Sixteen states now take DNA from some who have been found guilty of misdemeanors. This year, California began taking DNA upon arrest and expects to nearly double the growth rate of its database, to , profiles a year from , One of those was Brian Roberts, 29, who was awaiting trial for methamphetamine possession.
The system will search for matches between Mr. Roberts might leave a drop of blood or semen at some crime scene. Law enforcement officials say that DNA extraction upon arrest is no different than fingerprinting at routine bookings and that states purge profiles after people are cleared of suspicion. In practice, defense lawyers say this is a laborious process that often involves a court order. When DNA is taken in error, expunging a profile can be just as difficult.
