Opinion: Prevent the use of victim DNA by the police
State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, has introduced legislation to prohibit law enforcement agencies from using the DNA of victims collected from rape kits for use to investigate separate crimes.
The proposal follows a recent incident out of San Francisco in which the police department, using DNA from a 2016 rape kit, linked the DNA of the victim to an unrelated property crime. “Victims of sexual assault should be encouraged and supported in coming forward to undergo sexual assault examinations to identify their perpetrator,” Boudin said in a statement. “Instead, the practice by a police crime lab that my office exposed treats victims like criminals. It not only violates their privacy, but it dissuades victims from reporting sexual violence — which makes us all less safe.