The governor and attorney general are committing to “DNA on arrest” in Wisconsin. Twenty-five states already require criminal suspects to submit DNA samples when they are booked for various serious crimes. Governor Scott Walker wants Wisconsin to do so as well. He concedes there will be “up-front” costs for law enforcement. “We want law enforcement agencies to be able to do this, to be able to comply with this, and ultimately to be able to help us make this work,” Walker said Monday at the state Crime Law in Madison. “So that’s our commitment to doing it in the budget, starting now, so we can account for those concerns.”
A bill requiring the DNA collections failed to advance in the last legislative session. Walker and Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen plan on putting the requirement in the next state budget. Van Hollen said there will be savings down the road. “But you ave to have the commitment from somebody who has the foresight to spend a little more money up front,” Van Hollen said. Under the plan, suspects that are not convicted can request to have their DNA removed from the database.