CrimeLabWorld

What do you think about this?

New law requires DNA analysis for ALL convicted crimes

New York has passed a bill requiring the collection and analysis of DNA from all convicted criminals. Many states already require DNA collection from convicted felons, but this bill would require a sample and database storage of anyone convicted of anything. The resulting profiles would then be searched on a regular basis to samples collected from any unsolved crimes performed in the state and potentially the country. Is this going too far?

Let’s examine the pros and cons of this proposal:

Pros:

• Many previously unsolved cases would be solved. As the size of the DNA database grows, it only stands to logic that so would the number of matches identified between crime scene samples and people in the database.

Cons:

• Increase cost. Who is going to pick up the bill for collecting, analyzing, and storing all of these samples?
• Invasion of privacy. Do convicted criminals have a right to privacy?
• Is this the tip of the iceberg? Will this make it easier to start collecting DNA samples from everyone?
• Will this result in more people being arrested for petty offenses just so the police can get their profile in a searchable database for comparison to other crimes?
• Increased backlog. Crime labs are already overburdened with cases to work. How will the increased number of samples be prioritized and worked?

What do you think? Is this going too far?