DNA collection at arrest begins Wednesday

A new state requirement that takes effect Wednesday will generate tens of thousands of new DNA profiles that could help identify suspects in unsolved crimes, Attorney General Brad Schimel said Tuesday.

The law requires all people arrested for violent felonies and anyone convicted of either a felony or misdemeanor to submit a DNA sample.

There is a huge investigative benefit to taking DNA at arrest by solving crimes and preventing future victimizations, Schimel said in a statement.

The requirement is expected to add 25,000 DNA samples from people arrested or convicted of felonies in the first year and 43,000 samples from adults convicted of misdemeanors.

Wisconsin is the 29th state to require DNA sampling at arrest, along with the federal government.

Until Wednesday, the state required DNA samples only of convicted felons and sex offenders. The state added eight DNA analysts and eight forensic program technicians and expanded the size of the state Crime Laboratory in Madison to handle the additional workload.

A key backer of the requirement was the family of Brittany Zimmermann, a UW-Madison student found strangled and stabbed to death in her Downtown apartment in 2008.

Madison police have said they collected DNA from the Zimmermann murder scene that matches DNA found at a burglary but does not match any profiles in the federal database.

As in the Zimmermann case, Schimel said there are 13,906 DNA profiles developed from Wisconsin crime scenes that lack a matching offender profile.

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DNA collection at arrest begins Wednesday