Taking DNA samples.

• Position: TRENDS AND TRANSITIONS - Brief article

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

All 50 states require certain convicted felons to submit a DNA sample, and 47 collect samples from all felons. Many states also require sex offenders and those who commit misdemeanors to submit DNA samples.

States continue to widen the scope of DNA collection. Twenty-one now allow samples to be taken from those arrested for, but not yet convicted of, certain offenses. Seven states passed laws last year.

Proponents of taking DNA samples from arrestees argue that, with more samples in the database, it may help prevent crime, free the innocent and make criminal identification more objective. They also contend that many methods of DNA extraction--such as swabbing the inside of the mouth--are minimally invasive and no more intrusive than taking fingerprints. Arrestees are far more likely to be linked to a crime they previously committed--but were not arrested for--when they...