page_title: Combined DNA Index System
section_title: Arrestee collection
hierarchical_section_title: Combined DNA Index System / Controversies / Arrestee collection
context_page_description: The Combined DNA Index System is the United States national DNA database created and maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. CODIS consists of three levels of information; Local DNA Index Systems where DNA profiles originate, State DNA Index Systems which allows for laboratories within states to share information, and the National DNA Index System which allows states to compare DNA information with one another.
  The CODIS software contains multiple different databases depending on the type of information being searched against. Examples of these databases include, missing persons, convicted offenders, and forensic samples collected from crime scenes. Each state, and the federal system, has different laws for collection, upload, and analysis of information contained within their database. However, for privacy reasons, the CODIS database does not contain any personal identifying information, such as the name associated with the DNA profile. The uploading agency is notified of any hits to their samples and are tasked with the dissemination of personal information pursuant to their laws.
context_section_description: The original purpose of the CODIS database was to build upon the sex offender registry through the DNA collection of convicted sex offenders. Over time, that has expanded. Currently, all 50 states collect DNA from those convicted of felonies. A number of states also collect samples from juveniles as well as those who are arrested, but not yet convicted, of a crime. Note that even in states which limit collection of DNA retained in the state database only to those convicted of a crime, local databases, such as the forensic laboratory operated by New York City's Office of Chief Medical Examiner, may collect DNA samples of arrestees who have not been convicted. The collection of arrestee samples raised constitutional issues, specifically the Fourth Amendment prohibiting unreasonable search and seizure. It was argued that the collection of DNA from those that were not convicted of a crime, without an explicit order to collect, was considered a warrantless search and therefore unlawful. In 2013, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Maryland v. King that the collection of DNA from those arrested for a crime, but not yet convicted, is part of the police booking procedure and is reasonable when that collection is used for identification purposes.
caption: Current laws governing DNA collection as of 2018.
       Collection upon conviction only
       Collection from some felony arrests
       Collection from all felony arrests