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Pennsylvania House Judiciary committee hears dueling arguments on expanding DNA collection
Summary
Witnesses and advocates gave conflicting testimony on Senate Bill 912: academics and survivors said broader arrestee DNA collection could solve cold cases and prevent wrongful convictions, while the ACLU warned it would erode privacy and likely face Pennsylvania constitutional challenges; the committee took no vote.
HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania House Judiciary Committee on Monday heard sharply divided testimony about proposals to expand preconviction DNA collection, with crime‑victim advocates and a University of Chicago researcher arguing broader access to CODIS would solve more crimes and prevent wrongful convictions, and the ACLU warning the policy would create pervasive genetic surveillance.
John Roman, director for public safety and justice at the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago, told lawmakers that enlarging the Combined DNA Index System, commonly called CODIS, would increase investigative hits and serve as a general deterrent. "A larger CODIS DNA database increases the probability that a suspect will be identified and arrested," Roman said, and he cited national figures noting CODIS profiles grew from about 2,900,000 in 2005 to roughly 25,000,000 this summer. Roman also estimated the incremental cost of collecting and testing DNA in cases that produce new arrests at about $3,500 per arrest.
Survivors told personal stories of delayed justice. Ashley Spence, founder of…
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