New law to require DNA samples from Ohioans charged with felony

By Alan Johnson

Columbus Dispatch

COLUMBUS

Beginning July 1, anyone charged with a felony in Ohio will be required to provide a DNA sample for the state database.

It means more work for law enforcement and more than doubling the 40,000 DNA samples now processed annually at the Bureau of Criminal Identification & Investigation at London, Ohio. The test will involve using a cotton swab to take saliva from inside the mouth.

The testing will help solve crimes, said former Attorney General Jim Petro, now chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents. He was a big proponent of including it in the law.

“It will save lives. You pick up John Doe on a felony. Before he gets bond set, you get a match on another crime scene, and you’re able to hold him,” Petro said.

Current Attorney General Mike DeWine said he fully supports the idea.

“It will dramatically, fairly quickly, increase the number of people in there [the database]. And as you increase the number of people in there, your ability to solve crimes will dramatically go up,” DeWine said.

The requirement was included in Senate Bill 77, signed into law early last year by then-Gov. Ted Strickland. It was introduced following publication of “Test of Convictions,” a Dispatch series that revealed major flaws in Ohio’s DNA law. Other provisions of the law took effect last year, including rules on maintaining biological evidence and recording suspect interrogations.

Testing felony arrestees raises serious concerns for the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio, legal director James L. Hardiman said.

“What gives the government the right to take my bodily fluid just because I’ve been arrested? Arrest is not proof of guilt,” he said.

“We take the position it’s another incursion into the lives and privacy of individuals under the guise of protecting them.”

Petro said he doesn’t share those concerns. “Not even in the littlest sense. Since 1931, we’ve been taking fingerprints. They’re human markers. ... If I’m not involved in criminal behavior, what do I care?”

Chief Michael A. Harnishfeger of the Ada Police Department and president of the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police, said the change “certainly will mean additional steps to process folks who find themselves in trouble with the law.”

However, he said he does not anticipate it will be a big problem.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol likewise is gearing up for the law, Lt. Tony Bradshaw said.

“We have made the field aware of the changes but do not expect this to adversely impact our operations,” he said.