EDITORIAL FIGHT CRIME WITH DNA.OURS may be an increasingly high-tech society, but when it comes to law enforcement in California, we're still relying heavily on century-old technology. Proposition 69 would bring California crime-fighting into the 21st century, which is why the Daily News recommends a yes vote. Under current law, everyone arrested in the state of California has to submit fingerprints to statewide and national databases. That was fine in the old days, when fingerprints were often the best information authorities had for cracking tough cases or exonerating the wrongly accused. But today, DNA evidence Among the many new tools that science has provided for the analysis of forensic evidence is the powerful and controversial analysis of deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, the material that makes up the genetic code of most organisms. is much more credible, and it's time It's Time was a successful political campaign run by the Australian Labor Party (ALP) under Gough Whitlam at the 1972 election in Australia. Campaigning on the perceived need for change after 23 years of conservative (Liberal Party of Australia) government, Labor put forward a to bring the state up to speed. Currently, only those convicted of serious felonies must provide a DNA DNA: see nucleic acid. DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid One of two types of nucleic acid (the other is RNA); a complex organic compound found in all living cells and many viruses. It is the chemical substance of genes. sample for state and national databases. But, if passed, Proposition 69 would ultimately require anyone arrested for any felony felony (fĕl`ənē), any grave crime, in contrast to a misdemeanor, that is so declared in statute or was so considered in common law. offense to provide a DNA sample. Over time, the measure would greatly expand the state's database and improve its crime-solving ability. There is, to be sure, something creepy creep·y adj. creep·i·er, creep·i·est Informal 1. Of or producing a sensation of uneasiness or fear, as of things crawling on one's skin: a creepy feeling; a creepy story. 2. about the state's keeping a database on its residents' genetic information. But then, DNA samples are really nothing more than what fingerprints were to earlier generations. And old-fashioned fears are no excuse for old-fashioned policing. CAPTION(S): box Box: DAILY NEWS ENDORSEMENT TO DATE |
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