By AZ Mirror
The Arizona Department of Public Safety is asking the Attorney General Kris Mayes to advise it on the use of a new DNA testing technology that has critics concerned about privacy and misuse, but that law enforcement sees as a boon to solving cold cases.
Rapid DNA devices are able to test samples of DNA in 90 minutes, shortcutting a process that can take weeks or months in a standard laboratory setting. Law enforcement says it is a solution to overworked crime labs with backlogs and can create a statewide and national database more quickly, but critics argue that it could lead to abuse to test without consent or lead to the mishandling of DNA, which could kill cases before they begin.
In a letter sent to Mayes in November requesting a legal opinion, DPS said it is seeking approval from the FBI to use the technology for “the analysis of qualified arrestee DNA database samples at booking station collection sites.”
