Hourly Update

Gov. defends stance on DNA database

PHOENIX -- Gov. Janet Napolitano defended her decision to sign legislation that would, for the first time ever, collect the DNA of people only accused of crimes and put it into a statewide database. Napolitano said Wednesday that privacy concerns are overblown. She said putting DNA on file is no more intrusive than the fingerprints already taken when people are arrested. But that assessment is not shared by several legislators of both parties who said this is a major change in state policy -- and one that should not have been pushed through as part of the $10.6 billion budget deal rather than as separately debated legislation. In fact, a separate bill to enact that change died earlier this year in the Senate. Current law requires DNA samples only for people convicted of certain serious felonies, sex crimes and offenses involving deadly weapons or dangerous instruments. This measure extends that to people who have only been arrested on certain charges, ranging from homicide and child molesting to prostitution. The idea behind the database is to provide samples that police can compare with evidence at the scene of unsolved crimes. It is that database that concerns Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Phoenix. That sample would remain there if the person were later acquitted -- or never even formally charged -- unless that person could convince a judge to remove it. "This is a very, very scary step towards a Big Brother state," she complained. Asked about that Wednesday, Napolitano said those fears are overblown. "When people get arrested now they usually get fingerprinted," Napolitano said. "So to me this is just an evolution of that process," the governor continued. "I'm just not convinced that that is as Big Brotherish as your question implies." But Rep. Eddie Farnsworth, R-Gilbert, rejected that comparison. "This isn't like a fingerprint," he said. "This is actually intruding on somebody's body to take a part of their body so that you can put it into a database to catch them in the future if they happen to commit a crime in the future. And Farnsworth said this is just another step toward the goal of some people to take DNA samples of all newborns for the government to keep on file "because some point down the road they may commit a crime." Napolitano acknowledged the change in law is part of the larger deal she approved to get a budget to her liking. That includes providing just $11 million in tax cuts rather than a $64 million package approved by the House. "I don't see a reason for vetoing it," she said. The provision actually is being pushed by Rep. Chuck Gray, R-Mesa, a former police officer. He said it will improve public safety. Gray said if such a database were already operating it would not have taken police so long to arrest a suspect in the case of the Baseline Rapist who is charged with nine deaths and multiple assaults in the Phoenix area. But Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Gilbert, said that distorts the role of government. "The No. 1 job of government is to protect the rights of the citizens of the state," he said. "It's not public safety."