A company in the U.K. has developed a new gun technology that would leave artificial DNA on suspects. The DNA guns, developed by SelectDNA, shoots pellets filled with DNA that sticks to clothing through several washings and to skin for about two weeks.
The technique could also be applied to stop counterfeiting, or to tag money in bank robberies, according to the company.
The use of the tagging guns by police raises serious questions. The DNA marker could tie a person to an event, but it doesn’t say anything about what they were doing at the time. So if an officer were to fire a dozen pellets at people, it’s quite possible that he would hit innocent bystanders, rather than those inciting violence.
Then there is the question of arresting people after the fact when they take part in protests. Certainly, governments that take a dimmer view of political dissent might see this as a great way to tag people for future identification.
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