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Authorities train for new DNA rules
By Ashley Luthern
BOARDMAN
Local law-enforcement officials are training to meet the requirements of an Ohio Senate bill that took effect last month.
Senate Bill 77 was passed July 6 and requires law enforcement to record interrogations of suspects, collect and preserve biological evidence in a uniform manner and follow a specific procedure during photo lineups.
Youngs-town Prosecutor Jay Macejko recently led training about the changes at the Boardman Police Department, said Chief Jack Nichols.
The training also covered the DNA-collection procedure required in felony arrests beginning in July 2011, Nichols said.
DNA samples are collected from individuals convicted of a felony, but next year, a check-swab collection will be taken from individuals arrested on felony charges. The sample is sent to the state Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation (BCI), where it’s analyzed and put in a database.
“There’s still a bit of an internal debate about who’s going to collect these samples — individual police departments, the sheriff’s office during the booking process or BCI,” Macejko said of the later effect date. “The [Ohio] Legislature recognized it would take a while to get up and running.”
Youngstown State University Police Chief Jack Gocala said although his department has been trained, it is still unclear if the DNA job will fall to officers.
“I’m not sure how that will be done,” Gocala said. “If we book somebody, we take them straight over to the county [jail]. We don’t know exactly all the specifics.”
According to the Ohio attorney general’s website, the bill states that the head of the arresting agency must arrange for the DNA to be collected from the suspect during the intake process at the jail, community-based correction facility, detention facility or law-enforcement agency that the suspect is transported to after arrest.
The state will provide the check-swab kits, postage and do the testing at BCI, Macejko said.
Although some have argued that this process will invade an individual’s privacy, the prosecutor argued otherwise.
“My response to critics is this is no more invasive than taking someone’s fingerprints,” said Macejko, who has led trainings with Youngstown police and is scheduled to train YSU police, too.
“I think DNA is the most incredible evidence we have at our disposal,” Macejko said. “It will show us who did the crime, but also who didn’t do it. We only want to punish those that are guilty.”