Massachusetts DA postpones free “DNA drive” after ACLU questions program

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/06/17/metro/middlesex-da-postpones-dna-collection-day-over-weather-aclu-questions-concerns/

by ilamont • 3 years ago

25 14 3 years ago

bostonglobe.com

brickteacup• 3 years ago

what kind of a person would voluntarily give their DNA to law enforcement? we really need to make people trust the government less

emodendroket3• 3 years ago

When I was a boy we took a field trip to the police department where they collected all of our fingerprints. Which seems pretty inappropriate in retrospect.

akudha• 3 years ago

Few years ago, Kuwaiti government wanted to collect DNA samples of all humans within its borders (citizens and foreigners).

https://www.newsweek.com/kuwait-becomes-first-country-world-...

I don’t know if it materialized or not. But the point is this - the very fact that they thought it was ok to do so, is alarming. It won’t be long before some government mandates that hospitals need to collect DNA during childbirth. Sounds crazy? Maybe, but it is possible.

x86_64Ubuntu• 3 years ago

Identikid

enoch_r• 3 years ago

I… actually think it’s a good thing when criminals are jailed? For example, if a family member of mine committed murder, I would be quite pleased if my DNA could contribute to the investigation, as seems to have happened in the Bryan Kohberger case. It seems to me that increasing the accuracy of law enforcement is a Good Thing, and I’d be happy to help.

tapvt• 3 years ago

Of course that is good.

However, what happens when the so-called “criminal” is actually a non-criminal person that the government/powers-that-be deem a threat.

Perhaps that person has made efforts to remain anonymous, then their cousin gave up their DNA. The “threat” then becomes de-anonymized and is targeted.

SkyPuncher• 3 years ago

By this argument, nearly any government control is “good”.

The reality is we live in a dirty, messy world. This isn’t a computer where you can stack trace and figure everything out.

In general, we live in one of the safest, most stable times in the history of the world. Things are working “well enough” that we don’t need stuff like this.

Massachusetts DA postpones free “DNA drive” after ACLU questions program

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