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Norristown approves one-year DNA-services deal with Bode/Cellmark amid privacy concerns
Summary
Council approved a one-year memorandum and purchase contract with Bode/Cellmark Forensics for DNA evidence testing, 4-2, after heated debate about the company's data-sharing practices and ties to federal agencies. Supporters said the service is essential for violent-crime investigations; opponents called for more time to find alternatives and stronger contractual privacy guarantees.
Norristown council voted 4-2 on March 17 to authorize a one-year memorandum of understanding and purchase contract with Bode/Cellmark Forensics to continue DNA evidence development and comparison through the regional database used by neighboring jurisdictions.
The police chief (role) told council the department had relied on DNA forensic work for roughly 146 criminal investigations in two years and had submitted about 1,300 individual swabs in that period. The chief said the borough's ability to link evidence across jurisdictions depends on a vendor with capacity and regional database access. "Removing access to these forensic capabilities would not eliminate crime," the chief said. "It would only reduce our ability to identify those individuals who are engaged in violent crime and property crime in our community." The chief described the proposed arrangement as a one-year contract that preserves the department's capacity while staff explore alternative vendors.
Supporters argued urgency: council members who voted yes cited the department's recent caseload and the risk that the vendor would stop accepting samples without a signed agreement. Several council members and the chief said the contract is not intended to expand DNA collection; rather, it continues development and comparison of evidence already gathered at crime scenes.
Opponents and multiple public commenters urged caution, worried about data sharing and private vendors' contracts with federal agencies. Natalia Naranjo (self-identified), a long-time Norristown resident, told the council that community trust in police has eroded when connections appear between local law enforcement and federal immigration enforcement. "When we see these connections between both Cellmark forensics and other situations like that where once they input that information into a system, it's out of their hands," she said. Several council members urged staff to research other labs and to return with clearer terms about data retention and sharing.
The chief replied that the regional program compiles reference samples that are compared against CODIS (the FBI's system) and that participating vendor labs must comply with FBI/CJIS standards; he said he had researched local alternatives and found capacity constraints. He also said Border-related rapid-DNA contracts had different retention rules and that, in that federal contract, samples were destroyed after kinship checks were complete.
Council supporters said the municipality could negotiate contractual limits on data use and asked the chief to return with monthly reports on submissions, hits and vendor interactions. The motion approved a one-year agreement intended to maintain operational capacity while the department and council pursue alternatives or additional safeguards.
Vote: council approved the measure by recorded vote, 4 in favor and 2 opposed. Council directed the police chief to provide regular updates to the council on vendor submissions and to continue researching alternate laboratories and regional partners.
