Time to expand DNA testing

Thursday, January 21, 2010

New Hampshire is known for following its own course, but when it comes to things like a national crime database with DNA collected from all convicted felons, the state does not serve the public interest by staking out its own path.

New Hampshire, Idaho and Nebraska are the only three states that currently don’t have such a DNA mandate. Soon, Idaho and Nebraska may be on their own.

The state House of Representatives on Jan. 12 approved legislation requiring all convicted felons to supply a DNA sample (HB 523). We hope the Senate will concur and that Gov. John Lynch will sign the measure into law. The odds are good, since the state Senate has in the past approved the DNA requirement, but privacy advocates convinced the House to reject it.