California will adopt rules for DNA testing

The California Corrections Department said new regulations would be in place by January to permit "reasonable force" to take DNA samples from reluctant inmates.

More than 900 prison inmates have refused to provide samples to the state's DNA database, the department said.

To show its

More than 60,000 inmate samples have been collected since 1999, many by inmates who were given priority because they were on the verge of release. The department began seeing more refusals last year when it started seeking samples from inmates serving lengthy sentences.

Refusal of a felon to submit to a DNA test is a misdemeanor under California law.

But the department must secure a court order to take DNA by force. The state has sought court orders against more than 30 inmates.

The pending regulations would let the department take samples by force without a court order. A bill that would make a statute of the regulations has stalled in the California Senate.

SB 1242 would allow the state Department of Corrections and other law enforcement to use "reasonable force" to obtain DNA for a statewide database created in 1998.