US Congress puts up regulation to enable Rapid DNA analysis of criminals

The US Congress has launched a new regulation aimed at enabling law enforcement officials to rapidly execute DNA testing to identify criminals.

The new legislation, dubbed H.R. 5789, The Rapid DNA Act of 2014, is anticipated to decentralise DNA technology by enabling state and local law enforcement authorities to perform Rapid DNA analysis on subjects complying with current legislative guidelines.

US Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner said: "Rapid DNA technology has the potential to revolutionise our criminal justice system.

"Quickly identifying violent criminals and exonerating the innocent with Rapid DNA analysis is a powerful tool to help keep our communities safe, while saving taxpayer dollars."

Further, the bill will mainly serve as a supplement to the DNA Identification Act of 1994, which had established federal DNA labs and approved the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to start accumulating DNA data in a central database, called the National DNA Index System.

With the new bill, the law enforcement officers around the US can compare DNA samples collected at time of arrest to the central repository of DNA information and rapidly detect suspects associated with previous crimes.

With potential to deliver automated, sample-to-answer results within two hours, Rapid DNA analysis is an effective tool deployed by local and regional law enforcement to rapidly make out suspects of violent crime, reduce violent crime and help trim down the existing backlog of DNA analysis.

IntegenX chief executive officer Robert Schueren said: "Rapid DNA instruments are becoming a critical tool for local law enforcement, empowering them to act quickly, exclude irrelevant suspects and bring the right people to justice."