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Commit a Misdemeanor? NY to Demand Your DNA

Samples to be required from convicts of all crimes

By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff

Posted Mar 14, 2012 5:59 AM CDT

(Newser) – New York is poised to become the first state in the nation to require people convicted of any crime, no matter how minor, to provide DNA samples for a database. The state's lawmakers are putting the finishing touches on the measure, which would double the size of New York's DNA database, reports the New York Times. Supporters—including all 62 of the state's district attorneys—say the move will catch more violent offenders and exonerate more innocent people.

"Every single time we’ve expanded the DNA database, we have shown how effective it is in convicting people who commit crimes, and we’ve also shown that it can be used to exonerate the innocent,” the chief of the Citizens Crime Commission says. The legislation would allow both prosecutors and defense lawyers to access the database. Some lawmakers are seeking to add a measure to the bill that would make it a violation, not a crime, to possess very small amounts of marijuana in public. Click for more on a state with a serious wrongful-conviction problem.
DNA samples are processed at the New York State Police Forensic Investigation Center in Albany.
DNA samples are processed at the New York State Police Forensic Investigation Center in Albany.   (AP Photo/Mike Groll)
A forensic scientist at the New York State Police Forensic Investigation Center screens a pair of blue jeans for biological evidence.
A forensic scientist at the New York State Police Forensic Investigation Center screens a pair of blue jeans for biological evidence.   (AP Photo/Mike Groll)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 40 comments
fractal
Mar 14, 2012 3:14 PM CDT
Get used to it.  No such thing as privacy in the information age.  And once utilized, a tool like DNA is always used more, not less.
JackNelsonSteward
Mar 14, 2012 12:21 PM CDT
This is something we're gonna have to deal with. DNA evidence and the advances in using it have cleared a bunch of people on death row ... and DNA is a terRIFic way of putting you "at the scene," or identifying you as a perpetrator. We will have to draw a line, if we want there to be a line, as to what level of offense warrants State seizure of the very absolutely most personal data possible. Do you think being convicted of a misdemeanor is enough?  I mean ... it will dramatically expand the data base and make future criminal activity much more difficult to get away with. ... and the State will have complete access to the entirety of the biological program that built "YOU." Should registry in a national DNA database be as routine as that ink footprint on birth certificates used to be?  I mean, if you never do anything that requires criminal investigation, the only possible use for the data is to EXONERATE you ... no? What could be more of an "invasion of privacy" than seizure of the entire database that your body is built on? Could an insurance company make a claim on knowing some of the details?  How about a national health care program? Tricky.
Scaramouche
Mar 14, 2012 10:03 AM CDT
This doesn't really bother me. As a vet, my dna is already on file. Kinda pointless to complain.

 
New York City • DNA • Andrew Cuomo • DNA evidence • New York state