Gilroy
– The county has started collecting DNA samples from felons,
after the success of Proposition 69 last November, and is paying
the bill that goes along with it.
By Lori Stuenkel
Gilroy – The county has started collecting DNA samples from felons, after the success of Proposition 69 last November, and is paying the bill that goes along with it.
State law now requires DNA from all adults and juveniles who are convicted of a felony, arrested for certain felony offenses or arrested for a lesser offense but with a felony conviction on their record. A cheek swab, which collects DNA-rich cells, is taken at county jail and sent along with thumb and palm prints to the state’s DNA Data Bank Program.
Several hundred adults per month are expected to qualify to provide samples, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office.
Felons who are in custody at either the Department of Corrections’ Main or Elmwood jails are being sampled there, while those who are out of custody are referred to an off-site location for sampling, said David Howe, Assistant District Attorney.
Howe is part of a working group creating an implementation plan for Prop 69 that includes representatives from the department of corrections, probation office, superior court, pretrial services, juvenile probation and the controller-treasurer department.
“The actual implementation plan and the logistics are still being discussed and worked on right now,” said Bill Fu, probation spokesman. “This is going to involve a very large population for our facilities, and so there’s going to be a number of logistical issues that we have to work through.”
The group does not have a timeline for completing the plan. It will be approved by the public safety and justice committee prior to going before the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors.
It will take time for the DNA collection to be funded by new fines imposed by the law, Howe said. Fines paid by convicts increased 10 percent to pay for the new program, but the revenue is shared by state and local governments. That state receives 70 percent of the proceeds initially while the county retains 30 percent. In 2006, the state will receive 50 percent, and 25 percent after that. Fines collected through March 23 totaled $1,076.
To cover the cost of sampling, Santa Clara County Supervisors last week approved a $60,000 transfer from contingency reserves to the Department of Correction to pay for collecting DNA. The funds cover a contract with Central Medical Laboratories to collect swabs from convicted adults at least through June 2005, and it is unknown whether corrections staff will eventually take over the sampling.
A state General Fund loan to the Department of Justice of $7 million got the program off the ground, and costs to the state are expected to reach $20 million in 2009-’10.
Most of the impact of Prop 69 will remain at the county level, Howe said, although that could change in 2009. At that point, any adult arrested or charged with any felony must submit DNA.
Whether Gilroy police would then begin collecting samples is unclear. By then, the county will be sending a steady stream of samples to the state data bank.
“It’s an ongoing process. There won’t actually be a time when everyone is sampled because as we speak, even today people are being convicted of crimes that are going to cause them to provide DNA,” Howe said.
In a fourth quarter report on the DNA Databank Program, the DOJ reported that 349,436 DNA samples were received and logged by Dec. 31, 2004. About 290,000 of those were fully analyzed, and slightly fewer than 85,000 profiles were completed.
By the end of last year, DNA samples collected under the fledgling program aided in more than 1,000 investigations, according to the DOJ.
DNA needed
Those who must submit DNA samples to the data bank:
– Adults or juveniles convicted of a felony
– Adults or juveniles convicted of any sex offense or arson
– Adults arrested or charged with certain felonies
In 2009, the list will include:
– Adults arrested or charged with any felony – whether convicted or not
