Council committee to examine city’s controversial DNA database
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NYPD officers collect DNA from people accused of crimes or called in for questioning. AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews
By David Brand
The City Council’s Committee on Public Safety will examine how the NYPD collects genetic material from people suspected of crimes, or merely called in for questioning, at an oversight hearing later this month.
The committee, chaired by Queens Councilmember Donovan Richards, oversees the NYPD, which feeds the controversial DNA database after acquiring samples from convicted felons, criminal suspects and people who were never even charged with an offense. The hearing will take place on Feb. 25..
The database, maintained by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, included 82,473 samples as of August 2019, according to information obtained by the Legal Aid Society through a Freedom of Information Law request last year.
NYPD officers often collect DNA from people called in for questioning by scraping the material off items that touch their mouths, including used cigarettes and cups of water. The DNA left on those items is fair game for cops to collect. The NYPD says the DNA is vital for solving crimes, including cold cases.
But critics say the practice violates the civil liberties of people who aren’t convicted or even accused of crimes, while perpetuating racial inequities in the criminal justice system.
“The NYPD’s collection of DNA for this databank targets communities of color through dragnets and surreptitious collection from water bottles and cigarettes,” said Terri Rosenblatt, Supervising Attorney of the DNA Unit at The Legal Aid Society. “The public has a right to know about these genetic stop-and-frisk tactics.”
After the murder of Howard Beach resident Karina Vetrano in August 2016, NYPD officers conducted a DNA dragnet to obtain genetic samples from more than 300 black and African-American men in and around Hthe neighborhood.
Though those DNA samples played no role in cracking the case, the men’s genetic samples remain stored in the OCME’s office — often unbeknownst to the men.
“There’s no transparency,” Richard told the Daily News in May 2019. “We don’t know how often these dragnets occur. But I can guarantee that if we look, a large number are happening in black and brown neighborhoods. I think the public should be outraged.”
