Society to answer DNA questions
It’s all so easy on those crime-forensics TV shows. The detective returns from the scene, heads to the laboratory and is briefed on the DNA evidence. Even the cold-case cops get immediate results.
In the real world, forensic scientists work in cramped quarters and have more cases than they can handle. DNA isn’t usually collected until the police have a suspect, and cold cases typically remain in the deep freeze.
DNA testing is one of the great criminal justice breakthroughs, but it is not being used to its full potential. Ultimately, the questions for society are: How much do we want to spend to ensure accuracy in crime-solving and how far do we want to push the limits of privacy with DNA testing?
The DNA cases that make the headlines are not typical. A man was arrested recently for long-ago rapes in New York, Maryland and New Jersey. The key to the case was DNA testing on a victim’s underwear that had been in storage since 1973. On the flip side, DNA testing has exonerated people who were wrongfully convicted.
While TV viewers hooked on those “CSI” shows might think this is an everyday occurrence, it isn’t. Despite the best intentions of lawmakers and law enforcement, the implementation of widespread DNA testing has been off to a rocky start.
Criminal justice researchers at Washington State University surveyed law enforcement agencies across the country and discovered huge backlogs. The study turned up as many as 432,000 unsolved rapes and homicides over 20 years. More than half of those cases have potential DNA evidence that has not been tested. One-quarter of the law enforcement agencies reported that they don’t even send DNA evidence to a lab if they don’t have a suspect.
Meanwhile, the big push to build a federal database that would aid crime-solving has been disappointing. Some states have moved rapidly to compile DNA information; others have plodded along. In 2002, Congress allocated $28.5 million to help states reduce backlogs in their labs. Last fall, the Justice Department reported that only $11.6 million of that amount had been spent.
A bill was introduced in the Washington State Legislature this year to authorize the expansion of DNA collection. It died as lawmakers pursued bigger priorities. Privacy issues are also a perennial roadblock, but the concerns are overwrought. Virginia, which has the oldest and most aggressive DNA gathering system in the nation, has not experienced problems with collected DNA being used for nefarious purposes or to invade privacy.
DNA testing shows that our criminal justice system has been fraught with problems over the years, but that will not be rectified until law enforcement and lawmakers fully embrace its potential.