WICHITA, Kansas, Dec. 11, 2006 - For Kansas law enforcement, it's long been the key to many cases.

"It's just one more identifier. Is DNA the last and final word? No," Capt. Glenn Kurtz, Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office, said. 

DNA is important enough, however, for officers to learn how to properly collect it.

Starting in just a few days, anyone arrested or charged with certain felonies in Kansas will be swabbed for DNA. That sample joining thousands of others. The Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office expects to collect roughly 6,000 to 7,000 DNA samples next year alone. The samples will then be sent to the KBI to be analyzed and put into a database.

It's nothing new. States like California, Louisiana, Minnesota, New Mexico, Texas, Virginia, and now Kansas have similar programs. All of those programs with similar concerns.

"Something that generally cannot be taken from a person without a search warrant, is being taken from somebody who is only suspected of a crime," Jim Pratt, criminal defense attorney, said.

The sample will be done while law enforcement obtains your fingerprints. If you refuse, you will face additional charges. 

If you're eventually found innocent, State law provides some protection, but local attorney Jim Pratt says not enough. "If the person is acquitted or the charges are dismissed, the record remains, but the sample is destroyed," Pratt said.

Meaning your unique identity could still be accessible. A controversy officers hope to silence if the DNA unlocks an unsolved crime. The new DNA law goes into effect on January 1st.