State starts to collect DNA samples from convicted felons

An Indiana law passed in July 2005 granted the Indiana State Police permission to make a DNA database for all convicted felons in Indiana’s 92 counties. \nAccording to state law IC 10-13-6, Indiana may “establish a database of DNA identification records of convicted felons, crime scene specimens, unidentified missing persons and close biological relatives of missing persons.”\nThis means anyone convicted of a felony after July 2005 will have to submit his or her DNA for the database, said Tippecanoe County Chief Probation Officer Kipp Scott.\nPreviously, only people convicted of felonies involving violent crimes or burglaries were were required to register with the state’s DNA database, according to The Associated Press. But this new law includes nonviolent felons as well.\nLast week, officials in Tippecanoe County started collecting DNA samples from convicted felons in the community. The Tippecanoe County Probation Department sent 1,503 letters to felons to let them know about the collection, which occurred Saturday at the Tippecanoe fairgrounds, according to the AP. Of the 1,503 felons who were sent letters, only 612 showed up to submit samples.\nDespite less than half of the felons showing up, Scott said the turnout was pretty good.\n“Our goal is not to get people locked up; our goal is to get everybody compliant with the law,” Scott said.\nScott added that he cannot wait forever for the remaining felons to submit their DNA samples.\nIndianapolis-based Strand Analytical Laboratories collected the DNA samples for Tippecanoe County. The lab has an exclusive DNA databasing contract with the Indiana State Police and is aiding the police in implementing the “Indiana all felons DNA collection law,” said Mark Renner, director of operations at Strand Analytical Laboratories. \nThe process of obtaining DNA samples from felons is painless, Scott said. A cotton swab is used to collect saliva and skin from the inside of the cheek, Renner said. The sample is taken back to the lab, where it’s used to generate a profile from the swab. That profile, not the physical sample, is submitted to the DNA database.\nThe profile in the database is not permitted as evidence in a court of law. However, the DNA profile is enough for law enforcement to get a probable-cause warrant, Renner said. \nDNA profiles taken from Indiana felons not only go into the Indiana DNA database but also to the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System.