"President Barack Obamaâ??s embrace of a national database to store the DNA of people arrested but not necessarily convicted of a crime is heartening to backers of the policy but disappointing to criminal-justice reformers, who view it as an invasion of privacy.
Others also worry the practice would adversely affect minorities.
In an interview aired Saturday on â??Americaâ??s Most Wanted,â?? Obama expressed strong agreement as host John Walsh extolled the virtues of collecting DNA at the time of an arrest and putting it into a single, national database."
â??We have 18 states who are taking DNA upon arrest,â?? Walsh said. â??Itâ??s no different than fingerprinting or a booking photo. … Since those states have been doing it, it has cleared 200 people that are innocent from jail.â??
â??Itâ??s the right thing to do,â?? Obama replied. â??This is where the national registry becomes so important, because what you have is individual states â?? they may have a database, but if theyâ??re not sharing it with the state next door, youâ??ve got a guy from Illinois driving over into Indiana, and theyâ??re not talking to each other.â??
