But the stockpiling continues. It is the most significant innovation in crime-fighting since police began collecting fingerprints more than a century ago. Since 1989, states have taken more than 750,000 DNA samples from convicts. Though the stockpiling continues, there is increasing resistance to efforts to expand the pool of those who are tested. The profile can be stored on a computer and compared with DNA from crime scenes.
Every state conducts DNA tests on convicted sex offenders, and most test convicted murderers.
But there is much disagreement over who else should be tested. About one-third of the states test not only violent offenders but also burglars. Critics of expanded DNA testing say DNA evidence rarely is useful in solving non-violent felonies. Maine, New Mexico, Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Alabama and Florida have been the most aggressive in building DNA databases. Other states have been more reluctant to expand DNA testing, largely out of concerns over privacy and how cops will use the growing banks of DNA data.