Public DNA

Recently, DNA has been brought to the forefront of social attention. Whether it be CSI and NCIS, or it be the massive media coverage of such cases like the Duke University Lacrosse scandal or other cases where people are convicted or exonerated because of DNA evidence. It’s apparent that DNA wields undeniable power in the courtroom and in the public eye.

CoDIS (Combined DNA Index System) is the national database of DNA profiles. It is actually a collection of state, local, and federal databases. So who is actually in CoDIS? Well, right now, all people convicted of a felony offense, all evidence from unsolved cases, and a few others get tested and uploaded into the national chain. Things are working effectively and properly, but some want that to change.

In the early 1990’s, states began passing laws ordering the collection of DNA samples from offenders of murders, rapes, and other violent felonies. This rapidly changed to offenders of all felonies. This is all very good and useful. In 1998, however, officials proposed taking DNA samples from all misdemeanor offenders, and now proposals currently on the table of state legislatures are contemplating collecting DNA from all arrestees. There is no proof anywhere that people arrested for petty crimes are any more likely to commit violent crimes than any other member of the general population. And the word on the street is that movements to take DNA from the entire population are in the near future.

Collecting DNA from the entire population is ridiculous. A few of the major reasons why are easily derived. First is the simple fact that most people are not and never will be criminals of any kind, much less violent offenders. Why then must we surrender our privacy to politicians with needles? And, do we really trust the government with our DNA profiles. Although our DNA profile does not include things like a physical description, home address, or social security number, it does last forever. Our genetic profile will be the same the day we’re born to the day we die (barring any bone marrow transplants), and it will rest eternally in hanging folders and on computer screens in buildings across the country, available to anyone with access. Another problem is the unsettling notion of the types of people with this access. I just have visions of weak willed police officers being paid off or accusation happy prosecutors indignantly pointing crooked fingers when they find an innocent person’s DNA at a crime scene even if there was a legitimate reason for it to be there. On a more fundamental level, labs that test the blood and oral swabs to develop useable profiles are not perfect. Although error rates among accredited labs are very low, they still exist. As long as human beings are responsible for the bench work, there will certainly be mistakes.

Right now, America needs to focus our energies on the task at hand. That’s the testing of all convicted felons. Across the nation, huge backlogs of convicted offender samples rest neatly arranged in boxes, on shelves, in closets, waiting for their day to be profiled. Some wait several months while their donors may be responsible for unsolved crimes. And worse yet, some of these criminals may have been released from prison and are at large in the general public. This resolution of all convicted felons has to be accomplished and can be by improving existing laboratories, and recruiting and training new DNA analysts. The technology in the forensics field is amazing, it just needs to get put to use.

DNA databanks are an extremely useful tool in the discovery and indictment of criminals, and there is an unlimited benefit in the expansion of DNA databanks, as long as it is done in an ethical and just manner. Don’t let these databanks be turned into overgrown bargaining chips for bureaucrats or means for wrongful imprisonments. Let’s work together to give the innocent their privacy and keep CoDIS for whom it was intended: criminals.