The Bush Administration has launched a proposal to expand the national DNA database by requiring testing of juveniles and adults who have been arrested but not convicted of crimes. Presently, the national database includes only those convicted of crime.

Critics say that adding juvenile and arrestee profiles to the database threatens privacy by expanding the pool of samples beyond adult criminals. Although only digital DNA profiles would be linked to the FBI computer, the blood or saliva samples from which the DNA was drawn would be kept by state labs, they note. "It's only a matter of time before the government gets its hands on those DNA samples and starts playing around with our genetic codes," says Barry Steinhardt, privacy specialist for the American Civil Liberties Union's national office in New York City. "They say they don't want to do that, but not too long ago they were saying they'd only take DNA profiles from rapists and murderers and now they want juveniles ... We're not just on a slippery slope, we're halfway down it."

This is not just a law enforcement tool as the Administration suggests.

[Privacy advocates] note that researchers are identifying genetic markers for height, hair color and other features. They suspect that authorities soon will want to search DNA samples for such genetic markers.

This is a bad idea. We strongly oppose it. [link via Kevin ]