Law enforcement call for DNA Databank

A group of Suffolk County law enforcement officials, including Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota, on Friday threw its backing behind a proposal by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to expand the state DNA Databank -- saying it will solve crimes.

Currently, fewer than 50 percent of all offenders convicted of a penal law violation in New York must submit DNA sample to the databank database, officials say.

The proposal would require all those convicted, even of misdemeanors, to submit to the databank. At present, only felony offenders and those convicted of one of 36 misdemeanors are required to submit a sample.

If enacted, the governor's proposal would take effect on Oct. 1. The so-called All Crimes DNA bill would not be retroactive -- or apply to youthful offenders or those convicted in any Family Court actions.

"Today, state law permits DNA to be collected from less than half of the offenders convicted of a crime even though experience has taught us that the people who commit serious felonies often have criminal records of past convictions for misdemeanor charges," Spota said in a statement released Friday. "The Governor's All Crimes DNA bill will make certain the DNA Databank will be used to its fullest potential."

Spota, state Deputy Secretary for Public Safety Elizabeth Glazer, Suffolk police Deputy Chief Robert Cassagne, Riverhead police Chief David Hegermiller, and Kevin O'Hare, president of the Suffolk Citizens' Police Academy Alumni Association, were present at the news conference at the Fourth Precinct.

"Every day we wait to expand the state's DNA Databank, another cold case goes unresolved, a person wrongly convicted sits in prison, and we risk one of our loved ones falling victim to a crime that could have been prevented," Glazer said. "How do we know this? Because we have evidence that shows every time we expanded the Databank, we solved more crimes. It's just that simple."

Police said the DNA samples taken from offenders convicted of petit larceny, a misdemeanor, have been linked to 965 additional crimes since the Databank was last expanded to include some misdemeanors in 2006. Those crimes included 51 murders, 222 sexual assaults, 117 robberies and 407 burglaries, officials said Friday.

Data from the state Division of Criminal Justice Services shows offenders linked to crimes through the DNA Databank had three prior convictions for non-DNA eligible offenses before they were convicted of offenses that required DNA samples, officials said.

A DNA sample is taken from a convicted offender by rubbing a swab inside of their cheek. The New York State Police Forensic Investigation Center then converts that material into a numerical profile, specifically unique to that offender. The profile is only used to match convicted offenders to evidence found at a crime scene, and link crimes that may involve the same perpetrator, officials said Friday.

There has been vocal opposition to the expansion proposed by the governor, among those groups the New York Civil Liberties Union. In June, NYCLU legislative director Robert Perry said of the Databank: "It has been expanded repeatedly, the science and sophistication have advanced, and yet lawmakers have not even begun to think about what's required in terms of regulatory oversight and quality assurance standards that are required to ensure the integrity of the databank and the use of forensic DNA evidence."

Officials said the profile cannot be used for any other purpose and cannot identify anything about a person's race, appearance, health or behavior.