DNA registry would help solve crimes, police, prosecutors say

Published: Saturday, Jan. 4, 2014, 9:00p.m. Updated 8 hours ago

DNA from criminal suspects arrested in Pennsylvania could be put into a state computer database if law enforcement interests trump privacy concerns during the upcoming legislative discussion.

The state House of Representatives is considering Senate Bill 150, which would require police to collect a DNA sample from suspects arrested for any felony and for misdemeanors requiring registration as a sex offender. The legislation has touched off a debate that pits individual privacy concerns against a desire among law enforcement officials to track potential offenders.

Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, R-Delaware, said his proposal would put Pennsylvania on par with more than two dozen states that have expanded their forensic DNA databases in hope of solving more crimes.

It's not a question of if, it's a question of when, he said.

Pennsylvania collects DNA from individuals convicted of felonies.

Andy Hoover, legislative director for the ACLU of Pennsylvania, said Pennsylvania's proposed expansion might not withstand legal scrutiny.

It's questionable whether or not something this broad would be constitutional, he said.

Patrick Livingston, a Pittsburgh-area criminal defense attorney with about 30 years of experience, said DNA collected upon arrest could be jumping the gun. No burden of proof would be required before the DNA was taken, and it could be used in court as evidence in a way that otherwise may require a warrant, he said.

It raises, in my mind, a lot of administrative headaches in the garden variety case that gets reduced or dismissed, he said.

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DNA registry would help solve crimes, police, prosecutors say