{"id":28914,"date":"2022-02-19T04:01:15","date_gmt":"2022-02-19T04:01:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/?p=28914"},"modified":"2022-02-19T04:01:15","modified_gmt":"2022-02-19T04:01:15","slug":"use-of-san-francisco-rape-kit-dna-raises-legal-questions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/2022\/02\/19\/use-of-san-francisco-rape-kit-dna-raises-legal-questions\/","title":{"rendered":"Use of San Francisco rape kit DNA raises legal questions"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Every day, DNA is routed through local, state and federal databases to identify suspected criminals. A technological breakthrough that\u2019s allowed law enforcement to solve unprecedented numbers of crimes, its use has simultaneously garnered praise along with major privacy concerns.<\/p>\n

But this week\u2019s revelation that the\u00a0San Francisco police crime lab<\/a>\u00a0used a sexual assault victim\u2019s DNA against her in an unrelated property crime case \u2014 and the allegation that it may be a common practice in California \u2014 has\u00a0prompted a national outcry\u00a0<\/a>among law enforcement, legal experts, lawmakers and advocates.<\/p>\n

Police investigators allegedly used a sexual assault victim\u2019s DNA, collected as part of a rape kit in 2016, to tie her to a burglary in late 2021, according to District Attorney Chesa Boudin. The woman initially faced a felony property crime offense but the charges have since been dropped.<\/p>\n

Victim samples cannot be uploaded to state and federal DNA databases. But\u00a0local databanks<\/a>\u00a0operate with much less \u2014 if any \u2014 regulations and oversight and it may be legal in California to use a victim\u2019s DNA like the investigators did.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s absolutely unethical, there\u2019s no question in my mind that it\u2019s unethical,\u201d said Chris Burbank, former Salt Lake City police chief who is now the Center for Policing Equity\u2019s vice president of law enforcement strategy. \u201cThe question is not \u2018Can we do that?\u2019 The question should always be \u2018Should we do that?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Boudin said he was told it was standard procedure, but he has not offered proof. San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott said his department is investigating but he has not responded to questions about whether it is a regular practice or what that investigation will study. If he finds his department is using victims\u2019 DNA to investigate other crimes, he said he is committed to ending the practice.<\/p>\n

While the state Department of Justice does not oversee these local databanks, a statement makes the agency\u2019s position clear. \u201cBottom line: Victim DNA reference samples should never be used as criminal evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yet under\u00a0California\u2019s penal code<\/a>, crime labs can store and analyze DNA in local databases that are separate from the highly regulated state and federal repositories. Proponents across the country have said the local databases help law enforcement solve cases faster by avoiding the backlogs that plague state and federal databanks.<\/p>\n

Boudin said using rape victims\u2019 DNA in unrelated investigations could be violating California\u2019s Crime Victims Bill of Rights, which lays out that victims of a crime have the right \u201cto have their property returned to them, to be fully informed of what\u2019s happening with their property and to have it used only for the purpose that they\u2019ve agreed to have it used.\u201d<\/p>\n