ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, June 27, 1996 TAG: 9606270076
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-6 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: Associated Press
A computerized DNA database that already has helped Virginia law enforcement officials identify eight suspects will be expanded beginning in January to add samples from juvenile felons.
A state law passed in 1993 required adults convicted of felonies to provide DNA samples. The state database now has more than 7,000 samples, and another 120,000 samples are waiting to be analyzed.
The expansion of the law, part of a package of get-tough measures aimed at young offenders, will make Virginia one of the most aggressive users of ``genetic fingerprinting'' in law enforcement.
While most states building databases require only convicted sex offenders to provide samples, Virginia is one of two that require DNA from all felons.
``It has really become a very useful investigative tool,'' said Paul Ferrara, director of the Virginia Division of Forensic Science. ``It searches, and bingo, here's a match.'' Shortly after the database was established, authorities identified 32-year-old Jackie Crumity in the rape and beating of a Prince William County woman. Police had been stymied until Crumity's DNA was matched with evidence found at the scene. He was sentenced to life in prison.
When a DNA sample is found at a crime scene, either in hair, blood, semen, saliva or other tissue, a computer program is used to check whether the sample matches any on file.
The FBI is helping states build their systems, and within six months, the bureau hopes to have a computer network that can link all the DNA files, making a huge database accessible to crime labs across the country.
Last week, Virginia and Maryland labs were among 37 to get $8.74 million in grants from the Justice Department for DNA testing.
Despite its apparent benefits, critics of the program challenge its fairness and constitutionality. They argue the database will make convicts suspects in future crimes without any evidence or probable cause.
Some also are concerned that police agencies will be mistake-prone and the growth of the database will make accurate record-keeping more difficult.
``Part of the problem is that while DNA in certain instances is a tremendous tool, it is not infallible,'' said Fairfax County defense lawyer Peter D. Greenspun. And managing a large database, he said, presents ``all kinds of potential for failure and mistakes.''
Proponents, however, say there are built-in safeguards. The DNA is not used as evidence at trial, they say, but as grounds for obtaining a search warrant that enables police to get a new DNA sample from the suspect. The second sample could be used either to win a conviction or clear a suspect.
Time also is a concern.
Of the more than 300,000 samples collected nationally, only 63,000 have been analyzed, said Stephen Niezgoda, who heads the FBI's national program. In Virginia, about 2,000 analyses are completed each year.
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