Denver DA Morrissey Praises Katie's Law, Wants It For Misdemeanor Convictions
DENVER (CBS4) - Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey is once again praising the passing of Katie's Law, which took effect in 2010 and requires DNA to be taken from all adults convicted for new felony offenses. But he also wants it to include misdemeanor convictions.
The DNA taken from the suspects is uploaded into the FBI's CODIS database, which is a database that law enforcement agencies from across the nation can use to identify crime suspects. According to the district attorney's office, Denver has had more than 100 hits due to Katie's Law for the third year in a row.
"We will never know how many crimes have been prevented, but these numbers indicate it is considerable," Morrissey said in a statement. "It is also an indication that public safety would be further served by taking DNA at the time of a misdemeanor (conviction), a measure I will support in the next legislative session."
According to the district attorney's office, approximately 35 percent of the CODIS hits in Denver result in charges being filed.
Additional Information From The Denver District Attorney's Office
Of the 500 DNA hits in the last five years, 21 have been linked to murders, 73 to sexual assaults, 177 to burglaries, 54 to robberies, 29 to assaults, 14 to arson crimes, and 122 to property crimes.
