Under no-warrant DNA collection, any Georgian’s genetic data could end up in police custody 

Georgia lawmakers are considering legislation that would require police to collect DNA from people charged with — but not convicted of — crimes. This would happen without a warrant or due process of any kind. Supporters say these DNA-collection bills are targeted at criminals, but the sweeping proposals could impact anyone in Georgia, including people […]

Georgia lawmakers are considering legislation that would require police to collect DNA from people charged with — but not convicted of — crimes. This would happen without a warrant or due process of any kind.

Supporters say these DNA-collection bills are targeted at criminals, but the sweeping proposals could impact anyone in Georgia, including people who have never interacted with police. That’s because if you are biologically related to someone forced to give their DNA to police, the police have significant portions of your DNA, too.

Mandatory DNA collection provisions in Senate Bill 116 would apply to anyone charged with a misdemeanor or above who is subject to an ICE immigration detainer. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement uses such detainers to ask local law enforcement agencies to keep someone in custody until ICE can pick them up. The law treats every person like they are innocent until proven guilty, yet Senate Bill 116 treats non-citizens who have been charged as if they have been convicted of committing a crime. By first targeting non-citizens for intrusive DNA collection despite low-level charges, the state establishes a precedent that could next be applied to all Georgians. 

Senate Bill 29, meanwhile, already applies to all Georgians. It would require law enforcement officers in Georgia to collect DNA from anyone arrested for, even if never convicted of, certain felonies. Again, this would happen without a warrant or even a preliminary hearing.

Under current state law, law enforcement officers collect DNA from everyone who is convicted of a felony. Immigration status is not a factor. The rationale for the current law: Genetic samples collected from people convicted of felonies could help solve cold cases.

Backers of SB 116 and SB 29 dismiss the bills’ inherent privacy violations, claiming DNA collection is no different from fingerprinting. But that simply is not true. While fingerprints can verify identity, genetic samples reveal much more. DNA carries deeply personal information about a person’s health and predispositions to diseases. It also contains genetic information about biological relatives. As a result, when police collect DNA evidence from someone they arrest, they also collect genetic data about their kin. And all of that very personal information is stored in law enforcement databases.

Also worrying, DNA databases are magnets for people trying to steal personal data, and Georgia law enforcement agencies already are on their radar. In recent years, a series of hacks and ransomware attacks have targeted the Georgia Department of Public Safety and Georgia State Patrol, as well as city and county police departments.

Even without these risks, SB 116 and SB 29 are, on their face, bad for Georgians because they greenlight the government’s unwarranted invasion of our privacy. They would violate the trust put in elected officials to act in constituents’ best interests. Indeed, passing these bills would require lawmakers to erase protections they previously prioritized. When passing the law that allows DNA collection from people convicted of felonies, Georgia lawmakers chose to forbid police from collecting DNA samples from anyone else in their custody.

Our legislators should act with such caution again and reject Senate Bill 116 and Senate Bill 29.

SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX