Administering Entity
Alaska Department of Public Safety, Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory
Enhanced Budget Items
Governor applauds progress on public safety initiative for DNA funding – 2021
Arrestees: Yes, from adults and minors. Booking Station Rapid ready.
Qualifying Crimes: Arrest for a “crime against a person” or for any felony under A.S. §11.41, §26.05, and §28.35. A “crime against a person” means an offense (or an attempt or solicitation to commit one) under A.S. § 11.41, a chapter covering homicide; assault and reckless endangerment; kidnapping, custodial interference, and human trafficking; sexual offenses; and robbery, extortion, and coercion. See A.S. § 44.41.035(b)(6), (s)(2).
Time of Collection: At booking.
Expungement: Yes. The Department of Public Safety must destroy an arrestee’s material on the person’s written request when it is accompanied by a certified copy of a court order finding one of the following: (1) the arrestee was released without ever being charged; (2) the complaint, indictment, presentment, or information was dismissed and no qualifying charge was refiled; or (3) the trier of fact found the person not guilty (and no other conviction requires a sample). See A.S. § 44.41.035(i)(2).
Convicted Offenders: Yes.
Qualifying Crimes: Conviction in Alaska of a “crime against a person” or of any felony under A.S. Titles 11, 26.05, or 28.35 (or an equivalent law or ordinance). Also covered: minors 16 or older adjudicated delinquent for equivalent acts, and persons required to register as sex offenders or child kidnappers under A.S. § 12.63. A “crime against a person” means an offense under A.S. § 11.41 — homicide; assault and reckless endangerment; kidnapping, custodial interference, and human trafficking; sexual offenses; and robbery, extortion, and coercion. See A.S. § 44.41.035(b)(1), (2), (5), (s)(2).
Time of Collection: The statute fixes no single collection point for convicted persons. Alaska’s standard parole conditions require a parolee to provide a DNA sample where the person is being released following conviction of an offense for which the state collects DNA (see A.S. § 33.16.150(a); collection authority also referenced in A.S. § 44.41.035(n)).
Expungement: Yes – the Department of Public Safety must destroy the material on the person’s written request when accompanied by a certified copy of a court order establishing that the conviction (or adjudication) was reversed and that the person was neither retried and reconvicted nor convicted of another offense requiring a DNA sample. See A.S. § 44.41.035(i)(1).
Statutes / Case Law
AS § 44.41.035. DNA Identification System
HILLYER V. STATE (2023) ALASKA APP., 537 P.3D 785. (court order required to destroy DNA collected, upon request, upon finding of dismissal or lack of conviction charge)
Legislative History
- HB 27 → Ch. 10 SLA 1995 — Created AS § 44.41.035 from scratch. Required DNA collection from persons convicted of violent felonies (AS 11.41) and delinquent minors 16+. Effective January 1, 1996.
- HB 49 → Ch. 88 SLA 2003 — Major expansion. Extended collection to all felonies under AS 11 and AS 28.35. Added voluntary donors, anonymous research donors, and registered sex offenders as collection categories. Added tissue sample authority and defined “convicted.” Effective July 1, 2003.
- HB 124 → Ch. 12 SLA 2005 — Added “in this state” to the conviction trigger. Add authority to use reasonable force for collection and immunity from civil suit for DNA collection actions. Effective May 6, 2005.
- HB 90 → Ch. 24 SLA 2007 — Added subsection (b)(6): mandatory DNA collection from persons arrested (not yet convicted) for crimes against a person or felonies under AS 11 or AS 28.35. Added expungement procedures for arrestees and a 90-day processing requirement. Passed Senate unanimously 20–0. Effective July 1, 2007.
- SB 110 → Ch. 20 SLA 2010 — Reformed the expungement process to require a court order on written request. Created post-conviction DNA testing procedure. Added acquittal as a ground for DNA destruction. Added a good-faith use provision and authority to recollect insufficient samples. Also enacted AS § 12.36.200 (biological evidence preservation). Effective July 1, 2010.
- HB 307 → Ch. 85 SLA 2018 — Military justice reform bill that inserted “AS 26.05” (Alaska Uniform Code of Military Justice) into subsections (b)(1), (b)(2), and (b)(6), extending the DNA mandate to persons convicted of, adjudicated for, or arrested for military code offenses. Passed Senate unanimously 19–0. Effective August 14, 2018.
- No evidence of Alaska law or program.
- Statutory language limiting local database programs, unless in coordination with State crime lab.. Limitation only applies to databasing, not to programs using one-to-one matching§ 44.41.035(d):
- “(d) Except as provided in (e) of this section, a local law enforcement agency may not establish or operate a DNA identification registration system unless
- (1) the equipment and the DNA typing method of the local system are compatible with that of the state system under (a) of this section;
- (2) the local system is equipped to receive and answer inquiries from the department’s DNA identification registration system and transmit data to the department’s DNA identification registration system; and
- (3) procedure and rules for the collection, analysis, storage, expungement, and use of DNA identification data do not conflict with this section and procedures and rules applicable to the department’s DNA identification registration system.
- (e) Nothing in (d) of this section prohibits a local law enforcement agency from performing DNA identification analysis in individual cases to assist law enforcement officials and prosecutors in the preparation and use of DNA evidence for presentation in court.”
- “(d) Except as provided in (e) of this section, a local law enforcement agency may not establish or operate a DNA identification registration system unless
No Alaska statute regulates forensic genetic genealogy.
Alaska law enforcement may use FGG under general investigative authority. No state-level executive policy on FGG has been publicly identified.
Has statewide hit tracking system with InVita; (official Alaska DPS page).
Alaska government literature on the topic.
