[Infowarrior] - Feds to collect DNA from every person they arrest

[Richard Forno]

 Feds to collect DNA from every person they arrest

By EILEEN SULLIVAN, Associated Press Writer Wed Apr 16, 6:18 PM ET

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080416/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/dna_collection_4

WASHINGTON - The government plans to begin collecting DNA samples from
anyone arrested by a federal law enforcement agency ‹ a move intended to
prevent violent crime but which also is raising concerns about the privacy
of innocent people.

Using authority granted by Congress, the government also plans to collect
DNA samples from foreigners who are detained, whether they have been charged
or not. The DNA would be collected through a cheek swab, Justice Department
spokesman Erik Ablin said Wednesday. That would be a departure from current
practice, which limits DNA collection to convicted felons.

Expanding the DNA database, known as CODIS, raises civil liberties questions
about the potential for misuse of such personal information, such as family
ties and genetic conditions.

Ablin said the DNA collection would be subject to the same privacy laws
applied to current DNA sampling. That means none of it would be used for
identifying genetic traits, diseases or disorders.

Congress gave the Justice Department the authority to expand DNA collection
in two different laws passed in 2005 and 2006.

There are dozens of federal law enforcement agencies, ranging from the FBI
to the Library of Congress Police. The federal government estimates it makes
about 140,000 arrests each year.

Those who support the expanded collection believe that DNA sampling could
get violent criminals off the streets and prevent them from committing more
crimes.

A Chicago study in 2005 found that 53 murders and rapes could have been
prevented if a DNA sample had been collected upon arrest.

"Many innocent lives could have been saved had the government began this
kind of DNA sampling in the 1990s when the technology to do so first became
available," Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., said. Kyl sponsored the 2005 law that
gave the Justice Department this authority.

Thirteen states have similar laws: Alaska, Arizona, California, Kansas,
Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota,
Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.

The new regulation would mean that the federal government could store DNA
samples of people who are not guilty of any crime, said Jesselyn McCurdy,
legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union.

"Now innocent people's DNA will be put into this huge CODIS database, and it
will be very difficult for them to get it out if they are not charged or
convicted of a crime," McCurdy said.

If a person is arrested but not convicted, he or she can ask the Justice
Department to destroy the sample.

The Homeland Security Department ‹ the federal agency charged with policing
immigration ‹ supports the new rule.

"DNA is a proven law-enforcement tool," DHS spokesman Russ Knocke said.

The rule would not allow for DNA samples to be collected from immigrants who
are legally in the United States or those being processed for admission,
unless the person was arrested.

The proposed rule is being published in the Federal Register. That will be
followed by a 30-day comment period.

___

On the Net:

State Laws on DNA Data Banks:

http://www.ncsl.org/programs/cj/dnadatabanks.htm

http://www.dnaresource.com/documents/2008DNAExpansionLegislation.pdf