Currently there are 21 states that require a DNA sample from any person who is arrested for a felony.
The state of Georgia currently requires a DNA sample only from people who are convicted of a felony, not those arrested on felony charges. However, all of that could change soon.
Georgia State Representative Rob Teihet is seeking to expand the state’s DNA database by pushing for a law that would mandate DNA testing for all people who are arrested for a felony.
Some Georgia lawmakers believe that expanding the DNA database would help prevent repeat felony offenses.
It currently takes a crime lab six months to compare and match DNA samples from the database. Georgia already has a backlog of DNA matching cases that need worked by the state’s crime technicians.
Representative Teilhet is currently a candidate for Georgia Attorney General. At a recent news conference he stated that around 130 crimes could have been stopped in 3 states if DNA had been collected after the arrest.
Representative Teilhet plans to introduce the expanded DNA collection legislation this week.
[ Source: WRDW.com ]