Assembly Advances DNA Expansion Legislation

Silver: 'New York will have most extensive DNA database in U.S.;'
Legislation Harnesses Science To Catch Criminals

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Codes Committee Chair Joseph Lentol announced that the Assembly Codes Committee is expected to consider legislation today aimed at expanding New York State's criminal DNA database to include all persons convicted of felonies and misdemeanors, as well as making important reforms and providing privacy safeguards.

Silver noted that while the Assembly has long supported laws expanding the DNA databank, the Senate and Gov. George Pataki have been unwilling to prevent the DNA samples of innocent persons never convicted of any crime from being used in government run databases or to make a host of other critical improvements in the DNA law. Silver and Lentol said their two bills would not only lead to the enactment of the nation's most extensive database, but that it would also create the nation's most effective system for using DNA evidence.

"The Assembly Majority wants to ensure that when we expand the DNA database we do so in an effective manner that ensures accuracy, protects the privacy of innocent persons and provides the best quality forensic work in the nation. I am confident that the Senate and governor are serious about enacting laws that will make the best use of this modern, crime-fighting tool and that we will come to an agreement and have laws in place before the conclusion of this legislative session," said Silver (D- Manhattan).

Silver and Lentol said the first bill (A.11951) would immediately add all felonies and a number of serious misdemeanors to the DNA databank. The wide range of misdemeanor convictions to be added to the database by the bill would include those that involve violence, threats of violence, menacing or stalking behavior or offenses against children, they said.

Provisions in the second bill (A.11952) would address the unregulated collection of DNA and establish reasonable standards for the use of DNA samples provided voluntarily by citizens who had never been convicted of any crime. This bill would also establish funding programs for DNA laboratories and "Innocence Projects," establish best practices guidelines for the use of DNA evidence and make a host of related reforms.

In addition, the second measure would require the State Commission on Forensic Science to submit a plan to the Legislature to add all misdemeanors to the database. The plan would be required to outline how the state would process those samples in a timely and accurate manner.

Lentol noted that information received from the Pataki administration clearly indicated that New York State does not have the capacity to process all of the DNA samples required to be immediately added to the database under the governor's bill. Under the governor's plan, Lentol explained, approximately 100,000 new DNA samples would flood the database immediately, with an additional 80,000 samples added to the database in the first year. Lentol said the state is currently processing 15,000 to 18,000 samples per year and has the current capacity to process approximately 30,000 samples per year.

"Our plan would ensure that an all-crimes database is phased in so that samples are processed accurately and without errors that could jeopardize the investigation and prosecution of serious violent crimes," Lentol said. "Advocating immediately adding all felonies and misdemeanors to the database sounds great, but the plain fact is the governor's plan lacks the capacity to do it without risking egregious errors that would detract from our work in processing samples from convicted violent felons."

Ensuring Accuracy

Recognizing that an immediate expansion of the DNA database would have a significant impact on the capacity of the current system, Lentol said it was important to ensure the state is capable of quickly and accurately handling a sizeable increase in the numbers of samples that would have to be entered in the databank.

"The Assembly's plan is designed to work with the current capacity of the databank to process samples, while allowing for all misdemeanors to be phased in as that capacity is expanded," Lentol said. "This is the smart and effective way to expand the system."

The legislation also enacts a number of critical, related reforms prohibiting DNA samples from persons who have never been convicted of any crime from being kept in impromptu, unregulated local databases. These unsanctioned databases currently operate in several counties without statutory authorization. To ensure the integrity of the data, the legislation directs the Commission on Forensic Science to promulgate new guidelines for the preservation and use of forensic evidence and establish funding programs for crime labs and "Innocence Projects" to enhance the proper use of DNA evidence.

The misdemeanor crimes included as priorities for the DNA database include:

• Menacing in the 2nd degree;
• Menacing in the 3rd degree;
• Reckless endangerment in the 2nd degree;
• Stalking in the 4th degree;
• Stalking in the 3rd degree;
• Unlawful imprisonment in the 2nd degree;
• Criminal trespass in the 2nd degree;
• Possession of burglar's tools;
• Sexual abuse in the 3rd degree;
• Forceable touching;
• Endangering the welfare of a child; and,
• Endangering the welfare of an incompetent or physically disabled person.

Lentol noted that the addition of all felonies alone would likely result in approximately 25,000 new samples being entered into the database immediately and an additional 20,000 samples being added annually. Adding in samples from misdemeanor crimes would increase that number still further. Lentol noted that the Assembly's plan would push the current system to its limits and provide for additional samples to be added as capacity increases.