WPRO News and the Associated Press
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) – A new law requires people who have been arrested in Rhode Island for violent crimes to provide DNA samples to law enforcement.
The law that went into effect July 1 replaces a previous law that mandated the collection of DNA samples only from convicted felons.
Attorney General Peter Kilmartin says the new requirement will improve the state’s DNA databases, which he says can assist in solving cold cases and also exonerating innocent people.
But the Rhode Island affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union says the law erodes the presumption of innocence.
ACLU policy associate Hillary Davis says her organization is also concerned that police could arrest someone simply to obtain a DNA sample.
More than 30 other states have laws requiring arrestees to provide DNA samples.
