I don't see what the big deal is. We already fingerprint people when they're arrested. This seems like the natural extension of that. Why should law enforcement not be allowed to keep up with advances in technology?
Looking at past histories of many crimes, both solved and unsolved, there are many cases where, had the technology been there and DNA been available, it would have greatly aided in both convicting and clearing individuals of the crimes they had been charged with.
Yes, you can get "more information" from DNA than you can a fingerprint. Big deal. 99% of the time it wouldn't matter, and for those rare instances where it would, we can create laws and regulations on how that information is used.
Once they have the information, any attempt to control it's use will fail. Remember the government is only allowed to use your SS# for things related to social security, and that isn't even close to how it works.
The problem is in arrested vs. convicted. For one, it sets a precedent for future violations of civil liberties. It would cost a fortune. Human error is always a concern, especially dealing with this volume entries and the size of this database. In other countries where they've tried this it hasn't done much to solve crimes (The UK, for example). But the biggest concern is it's yet another example of government overstepping it bounds. Nothing will ever keep us 100% safe and yet this takes away more of our freedom. We have a right to not be subjected to unreasonable government interventions unless there is evidence, backed by a jury of our peers, to say that we've done something wrong.
4 comments
[ 4.0 ms ] story [ 20.2 ms ] threadLooking at past histories of many crimes, both solved and unsolved, there are many cases where, had the technology been there and DNA been available, it would have greatly aided in both convicting and clearing individuals of the crimes they had been charged with.
Yes, you can get "more information" from DNA than you can a fingerprint. Big deal. 99% of the time it wouldn't matter, and for those rare instances where it would, we can create laws and regulations on how that information is used.