Miloscia: take DNA samples on arrest for serious crimes

Proposed law aims to save lives and protect the innocent

January 20, 2009

OLYMPIA—State Rep. Mark Miloscia introduced legislation today that would require law enforcement officers in Washington State to take DNA samples when criminal suspects are arrested for any felony, gross misdemeanor or patronizing a prostitute.

"It's time we listened to police officers, prosecutors and the families of crime victims and realize that a law like this would solve crimes and prevent crimes while protecting people who have been wrongly accused," said Miloscia (D-Federal Way).

At least 13 states and the federal government already collect DNA samples on arrest for felonies or other specified crimes. Virginia has collected DNA samples on arrests for violent felonies and property crimes since 2003 and has documented 446 cases where DNA samples from its arrestee database matched DNA from crime scenes where there were no previous suspects. Seventy-nine of these cases involved sexual assault.

A 2005 Chicago study found that requiring a simple cheek swab for DNA on arrest could have prevented 60 violent crimes-including 53 murders and rapes in that city.

But in Washington state, current law prevents samples from being collected until an individual is convicted of a felony or a handful of lesser crimes defined in statute.

"Anyone who can Google the news will prove to themselves beyond a shadow of a doubt that collecting DNA on arrest for serious crimes is one of the most powerful tools we could give to law enforcement," Miloscia said.

Miloscia took issue with those who say this reform violates the presumption of innocence and creates privacy risks.

"Taking a DNA swab is no more intrusive than taking pictures and fingerprints of people who've been arrested," Miloscia said. "This proposal provides many specific safeguards of the innocent and requires samples to be destroyed if the suspect is not convicted of the crime."

Miloscia remarked that critics of collecting DNA on arrest always seem to offer hypothetical examples but never any real examples of abuse by law enforcement.

"If we prohibited law enforcement from using any tool that could hypothetically be abused, they'd be left with nothing at all to protect us against criminals," he said

According to Miloscia, older fears regarding the misuse of genetic evidence were largely eliminated last year when Congress passed the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, which prohibits insurance companies and employers from discriminating against any person based on their DNA.

Fiscal analysts have not yet estimated the costs of enacting Miloscia's proposal.

"I'm confident that the people will agree that the costs of doing more DNA swabs is negligible compared to the costs of the murders and rapes we can prevent," Miloscia said.

California voters passed a DNA-on-arrest law with a 62 percent supermajority in 2004.

House Bill 1382 will be considered by the House Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Committee.

On the web:
House Bill 1382 Documents
http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=1382&year=2009

Virginia Department of Forensic Science
http://www.dfs.virginia.gov/statistics/index.cfm

Chicago Study Summary
www.denverda.org/DNA_Documents/Chicago%20Preventable%20Crimes%20-%20DNA.pdf