A handful of Democratic New York State Senators have introduced a bill to end New York City’s DNA database, calling it “rogue” and “unlawful.” Sponsored by Brad Hoylman (D, WF), the bill seeks to end the city’s DNA database, as well as prohibit any other municipality from maintaining such a database.
The major sticking point between the state senators and the NYPD is the collection of DNA from arrestees and suspects not yet convinced or never convicted of a crime. In an op-ed for The New York Daily News, Hoylman and his co-sponsors accuse the NYPD of collecting DNA from anyone at their discretion—including children—as well as targeting people based on the color of their skin.
While the federal database only contains DNA from convicted persons, it is not illegal for states to collect DNA from arrestees. Currently, 31 states (including New York) have DNA arrestee laws that authorize the analysis of DNA samples collected from individuals arrested or charged, but not convicted, of certain crimes. In fact, the United States Supreme Court referenced DNA arrestee laws in 2013 in Maryland v King. In its decision, the Court weighed the government’s interest in public safety against an individual’s privacy interest in their DNA. The Court found that DNA sample collection for violent crime arrests supported by probable cause is a legitimate police booking procedure, like fingerprinting or photographing, and does not violate the Fourth Amendment. The database for the 31 states with DNA arrestee laws totals more than 3.5 million profiles.
In his own op-ed in response to Hoylman and proposed Senate Bill S6009, then-New York police commissioner James O’Neill clarified the way his department uses the New York City DNA database, as well as the information found within it.
According to O’Neill, the New York City DNA database—which is managed by the city’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, not the NYPD—is used to compare suspect DNA to crime scene DNA or DNA from one crime scene to DNA from other crime scenes in order to match or exclude suspects. The identities of individuals in the local database are not disclosed to law enforcement unless there is a match found between crime scene evidence and a suspect.
The size of NYC’s DNA database is also a point of contention between the police department and the sponsors of the bill. Hoylman and co-sponsors allege that the database contains more than 82,000 profiles, with at least 31,400 of them coming from arrestees and suspects, including children. O’Neill says that is not correct. While there are about 80,000 DNA profiles in the database, the majority of them lack names since the samples came from a crime scene, crime scene evidence from victims, or firearms used in shootings. According to O’Neill, the number of profiles developed from arrestees and other suspects actually hovers at 30,000, with only 5 percent belonging to children under 18. Of those, most are juveniles in their late teens accused of serious crimes. Six DNA samples belong to children 12 and younger whom were accused of sexual assault upon younger children. Parents or legal guardians granted permission in writing to obtain the child’s DNA in five of those situations.
If approved into law, in addition to prohibiting NYC or any other municipality to store their own DNA database, Senate Bill S6000 would also require any DNA record currently stored in a DNA identification index by any municipality to be expunged within 90 days of the effective date of the bill.
Photo: NYPD CSU van. Courtesy of Youngking11