Attorney General Roy Cooper wants more information in the state's DNA database, and he wants it sooner.

Cooper said this morning that his office will push the General Assembly next session for laws that will allow police officers to collect DNA evidence using mouth swabs at the time of arrest. Under current law, the state only collects evidence once a person is convicted of a felony.

"I believe DNA is like a fingerprint," Cooper said. "It's information about a criminal that goes into a database that helps us keep the public safe."

The Federal Bureau of Investigation follows a similar procedure, taking mouth swabs at the time of arrest, and a number of states have followed their lead and enacted similar laws.

"We'd want to make sure we had safeguards that if a case is dropped or a person is found not guilty, he can have it removed from the database," Cooper said.

The ACLU of North Carolina said in other states, this has meant people had to ask for the sample to be removed, which puts requires extra work from the innocent.

"It puts the burden on the individual," said Sarah Preston, legislative council for the N.C. ACLU. "They are essentially guilty until proven innocent."

More after the jump.

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The legislature will consider whether to allow hunting and liquor sales on Sundays.

A bill, filed by Democratic Sen. Julia Boseman, would remove a prohibition set into law in the 19th century, presumably to keep the traditional Christian Sabbath holy. Another bill would allow alcohol sales.

As a Southern state within the Bible Belt, North Carolina has more than a few so-called blue laws that restrict activities on Sundays: 

ALCOHOL SALES: It is illegal to sell alcoholic beverages before noon, and counties may further restrict rural sales until 7 a.m. Monday.

ABC STORES: No state-run alcohol store can be open on Sunday, New Year's Day, the Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day or Christmas day.

COURT SUMMONS: Sheriff's deputies and other law enforcement officers may not deliver court summons on Sundays.

SCHOOL: No public school classes can be held on Sunday.

LOCAL OPTION: With proper public notice, local government can regulate or prohibit other types of business on Sundays.

In addition, the N.C. Department of Correction is required to offer religious services to prisoners on Sundays "and at such other times as may be deemed appropriate."

After-school programs for middle-schoolers could lose funding.

Started in 1994, the Support Our Students program has provided grants to provide after-school programs to at-risk kids. It is currently administered by the N.C. Department of Juvenile Justice.

The $5.9 million program is among 20 that Gov. Beverly Perdue proposed eliminating as part of her $21 billion budget.

During the 2007-08 fiscal year, the program served 14,333 youth in programs run in 92 counties by local schools and nonprofits. Programs include homework, conflict management skills and recreational activities such as basketball.

"We know the prime time for juvenile crime is between 3 and 6 o'clock, right after school," Juvenile Justice spokesman William Lassiter said.

An annual evaluation of the program conducted by an outside agency found that 86 percent of surveyed youths said it helped them do better in school and nearly half improved their math and language arts grades.

Only 1.3 percent were involved in the juvenile justice system at year's end. 

The N.C. Victim Assistance Network, a nonprofit that advocates for crime victims, has a new executive director — Thomas V. Bennett.

Bennett is a veteran of several advocacy groups, and most recently led the N.C. Association of County Directors of Social Services, Dan Kane reports.

He has also been the executive director of the N.C. Quality Leadership Foundation, N.C. Child Fatality Task Force and N.C. Association of Rehabilitation Facilities. He has a bachelor's degree in English from Maryville College and a master's degree in communication from the University of Tennessee.

"I'm honored to be with NCVAN," Bennett said in a statement. "The organization is approaching its twenty-fifth year of advocating for victims’ rights in a time when economic pressures put heavier burdens on crime victims; they will need our help more than ever."

NCVAN has worked to increase the number of victims' legal assistants in prosecutors' offices, provide more financial assistance to crime victims through the state's Victim Compensation Program and push for legislative changes such as amending the state constitution to include the Victims' Rights Declaration.

NCVAN President William P. Hart said Bennett "brings the leadership, fundraising and lobbying skills that will enable NCVAN to provide new levels of service to crime victims."

A few more House bills from this afternoon:

H.B. 159: Taxpayer Bill of Rights, Reps. John Blust, Mitchell Setzer, Bryan Holloway

H.B. 161: Require Six-Year-Olds to Attend School, Reps. Rick Glazier, Angela Bryant, Earline Parmon and Ray Rapp

H.B. 162: Elec. Record Interrogation / B1, B2, C Felony, Reps. Glazier, Dan Blue and Deborah Ross

A bill would require police videotape their interrogations of murder suspects.

Under current state law, police are required to keep an audio recording of their interrogations in order to have a more accurate record of what was said.

But Rep. Kelly Alexander said that did not go far enough.

"There have been a number of cases around the country where people have debated about how confessions were gotten," said the Charlotte Democrat. "In most of the cases where you have drawn-out litigation there is no clear record of what happened."

He argued the requirement would help all sides: Preventing defendants from falsely claiming mistreatment, ensuring that police follow proper procedures and providing a clear record for judges and juries afterward.

He said he has received positive feedback from defense attorneys, but he did not know how the state's prosecutors feel about it yet.

"Obviously, this isn't foolproof, but what we're trying to do is make the system of justice as close to even-handed as we can," he said. 

Since 2000, 580 people have killed in North Carolina while on probation.

An investigation by the N&O found that 17 percent of all convictions for intentional killings over the past eight years were done by probationers.

The state's probation system, designed to help low-level offenders rebuild their lives and stay out of costly prisons, is risking public safety by losing track of thousands of criminals.

Documents and interviews indicate that probation officers — poorly paid, overworked and sometimes inexperienced — routinely lose track of the people they are supposed to be supervising.

It's unclear how many of the 580 killers were poorly supervised, because correciton leaders wouldn't release records of thousands of criminals. (N&O) 

A mailer is criticizing Barack Obama's record on crime.

Paid for by the N.C. Republican Party, the mailer cites Obama's votes on bills related to crime and gangs.

"Obama: He acted more as a friend to criminals than to cops," it says, quoting an editorial from the Investor's Business Daily.

The mailer repeats a tagline from other mailers: "Barack Obama. Not who you think he is."

The Republican Governors Association is targeting Beverly Perdue on jobs.

In a mailer sent to North Carolina voters, the national group argues that the Democratic gubernatorial candidate's "failed policies are killing jobs in North Carolina."

Inside, it argues that Perdue has failed to lower taxes, reduce pork barrel spending or crack down on illegal immigration.

It also repeats a claim that a 2001 bill made it easier for illegal immigrants to get driver's licenses.

As noted previously, that bill actually made it slightly harder.

The back page of the mailer argues that Republican Pat McCrory "successfully recruited dozens of new companies" and brought the NASCAR Hall of Fame to North Carolina, while the number of homicides in Charlotte decreased.