Honesty, Justice, and DNA Collection in Criminal Law

Introduction

In today's world, individual privacy, due process, and other ethical dimensions of the criminal justice system receive less consideration and are assigned less importance than crime control. The privacy of citizens has increasingly taken a back seat to the processes of combating crime. However, there are ethical considerations that must be examined, because the pendulum that swings far to the right will necessarily swing back toward the left.

The objective of this paper is to examine some of the ethical dimensions of key issues confronting the criminal justice system and private security, with particular attention to DNA collection practices and the tension they create between individual rights and collective security.

DNA Collection and Crime Control

Collection of DNA from all individuals convicted of a felony is the standard protocol in criminal courts and the judicial processes that deal with crimes, adjudication, punishment, and probation in the United States today. The work entitled "DNA Fingerprinting and Civil Liberties," published by the American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics, relates that privacy interests "are implicated by the collection of DNA for DNA databases and that a balance must be struck between such individual interest and the collective security achieved through the use of DNA for criminal justice purposes" (American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics, 2004). This work states that a distinction was made "between the digitized DNA profile and the DNA sample" (American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics, 2004).

The DNA sample contains genetic information concerning the individual profiled, which has given rise to concerns related to personal privacy. The American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics study additionally examines the "spatial or positional" aspect of privacy — specifically, the "freedom to go from place to place without being tracked" — and argues that this freedom must be balanced against the need for and role of DNA within the criminal justice system.

Privacy Issues in DNA Databases

Also examined was the potential for abuse of genetic information "through cross-referencing a variety of databases, using DNA as the unique linking data point, or the creation of unofficial (private) databases" (American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics, 2004). It is noted, however, that to date there has been no documented misuse of DNA data. Participants in the study cautioned against using DNA collected for "criminal justice purposes for other purposes, no matter how worthwhile — such as medical research — because public trust in the integrity of the DNA databank process may be undermined with this broader use" (American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics, 2004).

The following statement was presented to study participants in a questionnaire: "An arrestee's DNA profile should be anonymized if charges are dropped or if the person is acquitted, but the DNA sample should remain available for construction of population databases or for other approved research" (American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics, 2004). This statement generated a range of responses that illustrated the depth of disagreement on forensic DNA database governance.

Ten participants stated agreement with this questionnaire statement; eight of those ten strongly disagreed, three respondents did not hold a strong opinion, and one individual agreed with the statement. The consensus reached among participants in the study included the following points:

1) DNA databank collections implicate privacy interests, specifically one's interest in "spatial or positional anonymity" — the right to be free from government tracking or surveillance.