New York wants to expand cheek swabs--to test for DNA--to people convicted of misdemeanors
Right now, convicted felons have to give a DNA sample, but there's a proposal in Albany to expand the testing to people found guilty of minor crimes, misdemeanors.
Law enforcers want to see the change. Cayuga County Sheriff David Gould is among those who supports it, saying it would help link minor crimes to major ones. "They'll close hundreds if not thousands of cold cases," he says.
While law enforcers support the expansion, there are concerns about rights and privacy. The Innocence Project says it's opposed. But at Tuesday's news conference in Auburn (one of several statewide--another's planned in Norwich on Wednesday) the governor's Assistant Secretary for Public Safety, Mary Kavaney, pointed out that 'it's important to remember the privacy rights of victims, people that have been victimized by perfect strangers." Cayuga County District Attorney John Budelman says this would be one more tool in crime fighting, that DNA matches won't actually convict, but will confirm that a suspect was at a crime scene--or not.
The bill to expand testing is being pushed by Governor Cuomo, who's allocated money in the proposed state budget. It would go in effect October 1st, if the legislature approves, giving county jails free kits to do the cheek swabbing and adding resources to state police labs for the testing. Testing would be done on all people convicted of misdemeanors, except juveniles, out of state sex offenders, and people found guilty of traffic violations.
