The Police Commissioner of New York City, Howard Safir, said that taking DNA samples is a necessary tool in keeping the city's crime rate down. Announcing his proposal at the Bronx High School of Science last December, Safir said '' The innocent have nothing to fear...Only if you are guilty should you worry about DNA testing.'' However, many, including the New York Civil Liberties Union, are vehemently opposed to the imposition the proposal makes on civil rights. Under the commissioner's plan, the police would take a swabbing from inside a suspect's cheek (the standard method of collecting DNA), extract the DNA from the cells, run a DNA test and then put the results of the test into a database for future reference against repeat offenders. DNA, deoxyribonucleic acid, is the unique genetic blueprint of each person and provides the most accurate method of identifying an individual. Safir said that if a person has DNA taken and is acquitted or deemed no longer a suspect, the DNA sample will be destroyed. In New York State, the DNA testing of felons convicted of twenty-one types of violent crime are currently allowed. The proposal by Safir, offers us the possibility of a safer city at the expense some of our civil rights.