Prop.
69: DNA testing in California will free
the innocent
With
election day next week, Californians must
not only consider the choice between Bush
and Kerry, but the choice between yes
and no on all of the 16 propositions.
Learning about all of the propositions
and remembering what each one of them
constitutes can be a challenge but I found
that one proposition in particular caught
my eye, mainly for the extreme lack of
reason to vote against it. Prop. 69 will
protect Californians by using a new form
of DNA technology to catch criminals.
Anyone arrested for a felony will have
to provide a DNA sample. A simple test
is done to get the DNA. That does not
even require drawing blood, it is taken
using a mouth swab.
Everyone
who has taken the DNA test will then have
their results entered into a DNA database.
At the moment, California does not have
a comprehensive database while 34 other
states do. Those 34 other states are able
to solve almost 40 percent of crimes because
of the database, while California is only
able to solve 5 percent. The DNA tests
provide nothing more than identification
and no genetic information can be taken.
One
argument against Prop. 69 is that the
DNA of innocent people should not be in
the database. In response to that, anyone
who was wrongly accused of committing
a felony will most likely not commit one
in the future. In that case, why does
it matter if their information is in the
database? If someone was wrongly accused
and has been declared innocent it will
not matter if their DNA is recorded because
they are not committing crimes. It is
completely safe because specific procedures
are taken for confidentiality and unless
you are planning on committing a crime
in the future, you should have no problem
with this proposition. The general response
when I asked friends and family their
feelings on the proposition was, "I'm
not a criminal, why should I care?"
Personally,
I have no problem with Prop. 69 because
I have never been convicted of a felony
and do not plan to be. Most people probably
feel the same way. The only possible glitch
for those of us with a clean record is
the cost. Granted, these DNA tests will
end up costing California millions but
I feel it is well worth the money so long
as it could possibly raise the rate of
solved crimes. The only people who need
to worry about this proposition getting
passed are those who have been arrested
or think that they might be arrested in
the future. What better way to force criminals
to watch what they do then to take a simple
step like this?
It
is surprising that California doesn't
already have the DNA system because our
crime rate is so high. Using the DNA system
is just a minor step in "cracking
down." Living in a safer society
means living in a happier society and
this proposition will help Californians
do just that. Prop. 69 will do nothing
but keep our streets safer for the law-
abiding citizens and increase opposition
towards criminals, and I don't see anything
wrong with that.
Elizabeth
Jackson is a first year broadcast journalism
major at CSULB.
