Toronto's top cop is advocating for a stepped-up DNA registry that would include samples from everyone charged with a serious crime.
Currently, Canadian laws allow those found guilty of murder, manslaughter and sex assault to have their DNA entered into a national data bank. But Police Chief Bill Blair said he doesn't believe limiting the DNA registry to those convicted of serious crimes is enough.
He told the Toronto Star that an early match on a suspect could help limit his movements while he is under investigation.
"There are cases where we have charged a guy with a primary (serious) offence and it takes three years to get to a conviction. What's he doing on the street during that time?" he said. "If we were taking DNA at the time of a charge and he was matched to a prior crime, he wouldn't be in a position to go out for several years (and) commit more crimes."
The DNA registry has been controversial from the start as activists debate the line between the right to justice and the right to privacy.
The debate has become more heated ever since the U.K. began collecting DNA from everyone charged with a crime - even shoplifters. Now, several states in the U.S. have begun to follow the trend.
Blair says Canada should be next.
"DNA doesn't discriminate," he said. "It's a revolutionary crime-fighting tool."
The Canadian database currently has 40,000 DNA samples taken from crime scenes. Many of those samples have not been matched to a person.
James Lockyer, a defence lawyer well-known for representing people who have been legally found wrongfully convicted, said expanding the database is risky.
"I come down in favour of the right of private interests, as opposed to the very occasional cold case that may be solved based on the DNA samples taken from the tens of thousands of people who are not convicted," he told the Star.
