Legal Research

Many states are now taking DNA samples from people convicted of misdemeanors.  DNA is being collected from adolescents who find their way into the hands of the police.  California takes DNA upon arrest.  This month, the FBI begins taking DNA from individuals awaiting trial as well as from detained immigrants.  This is being done without a societal debate on the practice.

What if, at some future point in time, genetic status becomes a crime?  Or perhaps I should say, again becomes a crime.  This Scientific American review of The Criminal Brain, Understanding Biological Theories of Crime points out that scientists are close to linking genes to the propensity to commit crimes.  Genetic propensity, of course, does not necessarily translate into behavior. Once chromosomes and crime are linked, though, are we comfortable in assuming that the DNA in these huge databases won't be used as a basis for selecting some among us for special police scrutiny or even preventive detention? 

We are proceeding to search people, not all of them criminals, for their genetic identities, without a societal debate on the desirability of this course.  Say you were arrested and convicted of speeding.  Would you be happy to know that your genetic signature reposed in a database somewhere for the rest of your life?  The chilling response to privacy concerns was summed up by Rock Harmon, former prosecutor for Alameda County, California, "If you haven't done anything wrong, then you have nothing to fear."  What if, even though you haven't done anything wrong, society, or the police, decide you are something wrong?

See The New York Times article.