A bill that would add Oregon to a list of more than 30 states that require law enforcement officials to collect the DNA of every serious felony suspect upon their arrest advanced out of a legislative committee Monday. The bill would represent a significant shift from current law, which allows the state to take DNA samples only upon a felony conviction.
Supporters of the bill say broader collection of DNA would enable police access to a larger pool of potential offenders and significantly increase chances of solving old cases — ranging from rape to robbery to murder — that may have gathered dust for years.
But opponents of House Bill 3093 raised deep privacy and constitutional concerns, arguing that drawing the blood or swabbing the cheeks of people that police merely suspect of committing crimes would undermine the bedrock American principle of innocence until proven guilty…