Eve Balseiro
Forensics Current Event
10/17/2019
Randle, Aaron. “Why the N.Y.P.D.'s DNA Database Has Some People Worried.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 16 Aug. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/08/16/nyregion/newyorktoday/nypd-dna-database.html.
My current event article, “Why the N.Y.P.D’s DNA Database Has Some People Worried” by Aaron Randle addressing another element of the 21st-century debate of safety vs privacy. Specifically, my article provides an in-depth look at the N.Y.P.D’s process of collecting and sustaining citizen’s DNA information. The city’s database, the Local DNA Index System, has over 82,000 profiles. According to the Legal Aid Society, that is nearly 29% increase over the past two years. This increase is due to the fact that N.Y.P.D keeps DNA information and those suspected but not convicted of crimes. Though this may seem like a massive overstep, the N.Y.P.D thinks differently. They believe having large numbers of DNA profiles to be crucial to solving certain crimes. “The Brooklyn district attorney’s office said DNA had helped solved 270 cases, including sexual assaults and homicides”. Clearly, this technique is effective but citizens are left wondering if losing their privacy is worth it.
This article is relevant to today because, as stated, it highlights the debate of safety vs privacy. With 31,000 genetic profiles of people who were not convicted of a crime, it’s easy to see how they feel their privacy has been invaded. On the other hand, the article sites a story from 2014 of a man identified as the rapist from a previously unsolved case after he touched an object in a robbery. “Without having that resource, we would never have been able to identify one of the attackers in that case,” said the chief of forensic science unit in the Brooklyn district attorney’s office, Rachel Singer.
Though I found this article incredibly informative, there is some room for improvement. For example, I found that many of Randle’s claims were not followed by a real-life example, which often caused the article to lose clarity. Overall, this article did a very good job of presenting both sides of the argument and defending each.
1 comment:
Randle, Aaron. “Why the N.Y.P.D.'s DNA Database Has Some People Worried.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 16 Aug. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/08/16/nyregion/newyorktoday/nypd-dna-database.html.
I really liked how the writing had a sense of fluidity without the entire piece. Another part that I liked was that the writing was very descriptive and helped move the piece along. One final thing that I enjoyed was the part where she explained why it is relative to today.
I think you could have found a way to break up your first paragraph into 2. When you mention the city's database maybe try to identify where in the city like on the upper west or upper east side.
The aha moment for me was when you said, "With 31,000 genetic profiles of people who were not convicted of a crime, it’s easy to see how they feel their privacy has been invaded."
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