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	Kudos to State Lawmakers for Actions to Help Combat Crime The Saratogian [New York] June 22, 2006 http://www.saratogian.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=16826758 &BRD=1169&PAG=461&dept_id=17711&rfi=6 The Legislature took an important step forward in public protection by agreeing late Tuesday night to a compromise bill that will expand the state DNA databank and eliminate the five-year statute of limitations on rape. These steps will help bring law enforcement into the 21st century as well as put the emphasis where it belongs - on victims' rights. The move follows a contentious series of haggles throughout the legislative session between the Senate and Assembly and represents a compromise hammered out between two versions of the same basic measures. Ending the statute of limitations on sexual assault is a long-overdue no-brainer. There's no end to the suffering for victims of rape and other violent crimes. To deny them justice because the clock runs out is an inexcusable insult. Letting the criminals slither away to seek new victims is unthinkable. While protests about "Big Brother" and an intrusion on civil liberties are inevitable regarding the expansion of the criminal DNA databank, bear in mind that the information is as likely to clear an innocent person as identify a guilty one. Under New York's measure, samples would be taken only from people convicted of a felony or any of 18 misdemeanors, not from everyone arrested for anything. While only 14 percent of convicted criminals in the state currently are required to provide a DNA sample, the new law will expand that to about 50 percent. People convicted of crimes ranging from menacing, stalking, sexual abuse, criminal trespass and unlawful imprisonment to reckless endangerment and petit larceny will be required to provide DNA. The logic for including petit larceny is that it's an entry-level crime, so if the criminals move on to more serious infractions, identifying information on them will already be on file. New York, which leads the nation in so many other endeavors, has lagged in protecting victims of violent crime and sex abuse. According to Chauncey Parker, state director of Criminal Justice, who spoke Tuesday in Malta, 40 states take DNA from all felony arrests and California takes it for all arrests, period. A mouth swab for DNA is not an aggressive procedure. If it helps bring a violent criminal or sex offender to justice, it's well worth it. Ditto for the cases when science clears a wrongly accused person. Hats off to the Senate, Assembly and Gov. George Pataki for working together to serve the public.
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