A decision by the New York State Court of Appeals reinstated familial DNA search regulations, allowing law enforcement agencies to search a database of previously collected DNA samples for a partial match with a suspect in the hopes of finding a lead.

“By being able to use the familiar DNA, you are allowing kind of a first step to take place in the process of an ongoing investigation, and that’s really all it is,” said John Flynn, District Attorneys Association of the State of New York.

However, attorneys with the New York Civil Liberties Union are worried about the safety of innocent relatives interacting with police, upholding individuals’ rights to genetic privacy, and the fact the decision did not make it to the state legislature for further review.

“This regime is in place now because of this court of appeals decision, but I think the legislature has a role here in ensuring that there’s an appropriate balance of criminal justice concerns against privacy rights,” said Beth Haroules, NYCLU senior staff attorney.

This tool is not new, but its access in New York state is. Maryland and Washington, D.C. have banned the technology for genetic privacy reasons.

Most recently, a familial DNA search led to the capture of a murder suspect in Virginia involved in a case from 29 years ago.

Flynn said the technology could help solve cold cases and make investigations more efficient. 

“Going forward, the potential is endless,” said Flynn.

Haroules said she believes investigators should take another route to solving crimes.

“I do think that there are a lot of other existing techniques that don’t put this sort of balancing act of privacy rights, impacted communities, where law enforcement already has enough tools to follow,” she said.