News 12 at 11 o'clock, January 25, 2010

AUGUSTA, Ga. --- D-N-A. Three little letters that can make a big difference when it comes to a conviction or an acquittal. As of 2009, 21 states had laws requiring DNA samples from anyone arrested for a felony. Currently in Georgia, you must be first convicted of a felony before a DNA sample is taken.

Mandatory DNA sampling for people arrested on felony charges in Georgia could be changing. Representative Rob Teihet is pushing for mandatory DNA testing for all felony arrests.

Is it"an invasion of privacy" or an easy way to catch criminals? Georgia lawmakers may soon be considering a proposal to expand the state's DNA database.

Back in 2007, Leon Tate was already in jail when he was connected to a string of robberies from 2005 in Augusta.
Authorities say he used gloves during three robberies of a Family Dollar Store on Milledgeville Road, but some of his blood left behind - not his fingerprints - allowed Richmond County investigators to keep him locked up.

"Currently the way the law is, once you are convicted then your DNA can be taken and put into the database," says Lt. Scott Peebles with the Richmond County Sheriff's Office.

That could change. Some state lawmakers believe expanding the database would help prevent repeat felony offenses.

"As an idea anyway, the more people we could be put in that database the better it would be for us," adds Peebles.

At this point Peebles says he's not for or against the new proposal.He say he can see both benefits and drawbacks.

"The more people you have in that database the likelihood you're going to come out with a match."

What about privacy and other rights? Under the new law, a DNA sample would be taken on all suspects charged with less harsh felony crimes even without a conviction.

"I think the key is that the courts are going to have to decide how much intrusion is that," says Peebles."Also,who is going to help them process this DNA? How are they going to be staffed to do it? Who's going to fund it?"

By some estimates the program's cost would be more than $2 and a half million dollars and could go up to 7 million. Lt. Peebles says while they will take all of the tools to help fight crime there's still much to be considered.

"A crime lab right now you're looking at a six month turn around on any DNA just for comparison purposes." says Peebles. "If you've got it and it's just sitting in a warehouse and you can't process it,cause you don't have anybody to do it, then it's not going to benefit anybody."

There is already a backlog of cases for GBI crime technicians to work and the backlog could get even worse now that there' talk from the Governor's office about closing down three of the seven state crime labs due to budget cuts.

Rep. Teilhet says he knows that the state budget is lean and the GBI already has trouble keeping up with current DNA tests.

"There is a backlog now," he says. " One of the things we as a state have to do is simply decide that, consistent with our values, this is a priority."

Teilhet is also a candidate for Attorney General. At a news conference he presented data showing that almost 130 crimes could have been prevented in 3 states if DNA had been collected.

Teilhet says he will introduce the legislation later this week.