WHEREAS, the criminal justice system relies on forensic evidence to convict the guilty and exonerate the innocent; and

WHEREAS, advancements in DNA technology have resulted in the ability to identify individuals; and

WHEREAS, a great number of offenders arrested by law enforcement have engaged in repeated criminal acts of escalating severity; and

WHEREAS, the taking of DNA samples is efficient, safe and non-invasive; and

WHEREAS, analysis of DNA samples collected at the time of arrest would result in the identification of a greater number of perpetrators of crimes previously undetected; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, that the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) duly assembled at its 115th Annual Conference in San Diego, California recommends that state legislators and other bodies adopt laws to allow the collection of DNA samples from all persons at the time of arrest and further, that the DNA profiles from these samples be uploaded and searched against DNA profiles from crime scene evidence contained in the national and local individual characteristic database (such as CODIS in the US) to facilitate solving prior crimes and preventing future crimes.

Submitted by: Forensics Committee

FOR.017.a08