Associated Press: NY law would be 1st to take DNA from all criminals
The Associated Press reports on a proposed expansion of DNA data-gathering in New York.
Gov. David Paterson has proposed roughly doubling New York’s DNA database to include samples from even low-level offenders, making it the first in the nation to so broadly collect and use this evidence to solve crimes and exonerate people wrongly convicted.
New York’s law would require adding about 48,000 samples a year to a laboratory system that state officials say is capable of handling the extra work, with no current backlogs. [...]
State police now have DNA samples from 356,000 people convicted of felonies and certain misdemeanors, including petty larceny and endangering the welfare of a child. The database began in 1996 with the genetic material from killers and sex predators, and has been expanded three times.
The governor’s plan has drawn support from a law school center involved in efforts nationwide to use DNA evidence to reverse wrongful convictions. But the New York Civil Liberties Union said the latest proposed expansion raises many questions, including about protection of privacy rights, and should be given further study. [...]
Robert Perry, New York Civil Liberties Union legislative director, said there are issues with privacy and the rights of defendants to due process — and that an independent analysis is needed first. He said problems from putting the DNA of thousands more people into the data bank include the risk of degraded samples, human error in testing labs and even intentional fraud.
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