Crime victim advocates join effort to call for passage
State Rep. Dennis O’Brien (R-Philadelphia) was joined by a number of crime victim advocates this week in calling for action on House Bill 292, which requires the collection of DNA samples upon arrest for felony crimes.
O’Brien was joined by several individuals, all of whom have been affected by crime. Scheduled to attend are: John Walsh, host of the television show America’s Most Wanted and co-founder of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children; Jayann Sepich, who has started a national campaign for arrestee DNA databases in honor of her murdered daughter, Katie Sepich; Abby Potash, a Pennsylvania mother whose son was recovered after being abducted by a noncustodial parent; and Mary Kozakiewicz, another Pennsylvania resident whose daughter, Alicia, survived an abduction and rape after being lured by an Internet predator.
“Twenty-one states and Congress have already passed laws to take DNA upon arrest for certain felony crimes,” said O’Brien. “It is time for Pennsylvania to pass this law, or risk being left behind. We should not be tying law enforcement’s hands.”
In voicing support for legislation to require DNA at arrest, John Walsh stated, “DNA is the fingerprint of the 21st century. It not only helps apprehend and convict the guilty, but it frees the innocent. DNA collection is as simple as photographing and fingerprinting. In the 21st century, we owe it to all crime victims to employ this modern method of crime prevention. It’s about getting justice, and DNA collection upon arrest is an important part of that process.”
While laws governing collection of DNA upon arrest are still relatively new, a quickly-brought challenge to the federal law, based on a Fourth Amendment Rights, has already been dismissed by a federal district court. Additionally, the State Supreme Court of Virginia has also upheld its state law as constitutional.
Studies have shown the painful price of failing to have arrestee DNA databases. In the “Chicago Study” completed by the City of Chicago and presented to the Illinois state legislature in 2005, Chicago’s examination of the criminal activities of eight individuals identified 60 violent crimes, including 53 murders and rapes, which could have been prevented if DNA had been treated as the fingerprint of the 21st century.
In each case in the Chicago Study, the offender had committed previously unsolved crimes that could have been solved immediately through a DNA match. However, DNA was not required at arrest. With this historical backdrop, each state faces a similar predicament if action is not taken to introduce, pass and support laws requiring the collection of DNA upon arrest for felony crimes, just as a fingerprint is standard procedure for every arrest.
For more information about the benefits of taking DNA upon arrest for felony crimes, visit RepOBrien.com and click on “DNA Saves.”
Rep. Dennis O’Brien
169th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
(215) 632-5150
(717) 787-5689
www.RepOBrien.com
Contact: L. Paul Vezzetti
House Republican Public Relations
(717) 260-6183
www.pahousegop.com/