This Week's Attitude
Mayor's DNA Plan Is Paved With Privacy Potholes
By Neil S. Friedman

Mayor Michael Bloomberg last week gave his penultimate State of the City speech. It was, like most addresses of that nature, upbeat, encouraging with an array of major proposals, albeit he also warned of necessary spending cuts - with an eye on future budget deficits - since the nation's economy appears headed for hard times.

Though the billionaire mayor persistently claims he will not be a presidential candidate before he completes his second term in the "second toughest job in America," portions of his remarks included topics repeatedly debated in the presidential race ¬- tax relief, anti-crime measures and immigration - which also happen to be local issues, and veiled criticisms of the current White House hopefuls.

Bloomberg took a distinct jab at ex-mayor Rudolph Giuliani, whose presidential campaign has faltered in the early goings and could collapse, unless he fares well in next Tuesday's Florida primary, by calling his GOP predecessor "insular, provincial and married to the conventional."

At the onset of his remarks Bloomberg drew attention to one of the nation's hottest issues when he introduced four immigrant families who sat behind him on the podium inside the Flushing Meadows Park ice rink in Queens. As he gestured to them, he said, "This is what makes America great."

Hmmm…sure sounds like a dig at candidates touting an intolerant position on immigration.

Bloomberg's agenda for New York includes a major tax cut, a seven percent property tax rebate, ending social promotion for eighth graders - as he did previously for a few earlier grades - GPS tracking gadgets on school buses, ambulances and fire trucks, an online database for citizens to monitor government performance, new services for seniors, and innovative law enforcement measures that include DNA testing at crime scenes by police.

It is the last item, which would operate like an alcohol Breathalyzer for a DUI suspect, that is especially disturbing. The mayor offered a six-figure reward to anyone in the private sector who creates a portable device that allows the Police Department to instantly analyze DNA at crime scenes.

The mayor's radical proposal would allow NYPD officers to take a DNA sample from an individual they stop and question simply by swabbing the inside of the cheek then running it through a DNA analyzer. Mind you, this tactic goes much further than the current system where DNA samples are taken after suspects are convicted of felonies and some misdemeanors.

Opponents argue that the cost for such a program would require more resources, such as equipment costing an estimated $7 million a year, and a significant number of qualified personnel. Last year in New York City there were over 375,000 felony and misdemeanor arrests, which would make testing everyone impractical - it currently takes at least 30 minutes to swab and check the DNA, then officers have to file the paperwork, which keeps them off the street - in addition to establishing a network for collecting and storing the potential evidence.

An ACLU spokesperson maintains that the evaluation of DNA has to be clear-cut to assure a suspect's rights, but with so much human error possible, the analysis might go awry subjecting someone to unwarranted confinement.

Prosecutors support the mayor's testing strategy claiming that in too many cases, suspects slip through the system and escape identification, but that would be reduced with a larger DNA database.

With modern technology, it should be easier for law enforcement personnel to conduct a thorough investigation and NOT allow violent criminals to "slip through the system."

They also assert that the more you expand the database, the more crimes they can solve.

Perhaps, but under the Bloomberg system, everyone the police stop is presumed guilty until the DNA test proves otherwise before they are even charged with a crime.

For years Gov. George Pataki wanted a DNA database for all crimes, but a Democratic majority in the Assembly rebuffed his plan. In his first year in office, Gov. Eliot Spitzer also tried to expand the state's DNA database - though it was not as wide-ranging as Bloomberg's proposal - but it, too, failed to get approval in the Democratic-controlled Assembly after passing the GOP-led Senate. Therefore, the mayor's plan, which would require the Legislature's endorsement, will not likely see the light of day.

The use of DNA has greatly enhanced modern criminology and proven to be a more reliable identification tool, in most instances, than fingerprints had been for decades. On the other hand, in a growing number of instances, fresh DNA evidence has also led to exoneration for some and the reversal of convictions for hundreds of felons years after their imprisonment.

Some of the Big Brother-type applications from George Orwell's no longer futuristic "1984," such as the increasing number of government and private security camera surveillance and the ubiquitous, intrusive World Wide Web, have already caused a host of privacy concerns.

Compiling local DNA records that would become part of a national database could turn out to be an essential weapon to assist law enforcement agencies in combating crime and seeking elusive suspects. Nevertheless, extreme caution must be taken to insure the process isn't abused and, more importantly, innocent citizens' rights are not violated. That's why asking for a license, registration, insurance ID card and a DNA sample at routine traffic stops is, at best, a road paved with privacy potholes.

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