Racist Omaha Police say DNA Sweeps save time
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People asked
for their DNA have little choice: Either submit to the test or move up
the suspect list. And, they say, sweeps - in which police collect DNA
from dozens of people based upon a broad description - violate people's
constitutional rights against unreasonable search and seizure. "These
sweeps - whether they're roadblocks or these massive DNA collections -
are not only intrusive but they're ineffective," said Sam Walker, a
longtime criminal justice professor at the University of Nebraska at
Omaha. "Research has shown that time and time again, crimes are solved
by some specific identifying information from people. The victim. A
witness. A friend. "A lot of these sweeps are just done as theater.
It's police playing to an audience, trying to show that they're doing
something." [more]
