BAKERSFIELD, CA - Like the U.S. Supreme Court, locally, opinions are split about collecting DNA after an arrest. Kern County has been collecting DNA from people arrested for felonies for four years. While DNA has helped convict criminals here in the past, some feel DNA collection is an invasion, especially if the person arrested is innocent.
"In my opinion, it's a slippery slope," said local Associate Defense Attorney, Monica Bermudez about the Supreme Court's decision.
"You also just have that intrusion on those people who maybe are wrongfully accused and have to go through this ordeal, and now they are automatically placed in this data bank of people with their DNA that is going to be used in years and years to come," added Bermudez.
Anyone booked into a Kern County jail for a felony has been swabbed for DNA since 2009, under Penal Code Section 296. Monday's ruling means they can continue to do so.
"I think it was a major victory for law enforcement today and its fight against crime," said Mark Pafford, Chief Deputy District Attorney.
Pafford says he thinks the decision will continue to help investigators solve crimes like it has in the past. Earlier this year, DNA evidence collected from a sweaty handprint helped link and convict Charles Lawton and Dupree Langston to eight robberies in a five-week crime spree.
"DNA works both ways. Our lab, or the Kern County criminalist laboratory, has shown people are innocent and they've shown people are guilty too," said Pafford.
Still, critics think it gives cops too much power. They can decide if a crime is serious enough to swab instead of waiting for the district attorney's determination.
"Then basically, what we have is this person who should have never been subjected with this, was subjected to this based on the viewpoint of the arresting agency," said Bermudez.
"It's a tool to seek justice and justice is to make sure they find the right person," said Pafford.
Ray Pruitt with the Sheriff's Department says this will not change their current procedures.
And, Sgt. Joe Grubbs with the Bakersfield Police Department says officers are trained biannually on proper DNA collection.