Dallas Police to Start Collecting DNA from Prostitutes

Jammie Wolf spent 23 years on the streets as a prostitute. She stole a car, went to prison and lost her kids. But she overcame it and two years ago started helping other women turn their lives around.

"For me, the scariest part was the hopelessness," Wolf said.

Dallas Police say prostitutes are 200 times more likely to become victims of violent crime than the general population. So starting early next year, officers will begin collecting voluntary DNA samples from prostitutes.

"My command staff did not believe that these women would voluntarily submit to this DNA database, so we did a survey of all the women that are currently in the program and 100% said that they would," said Sgt. Louis Felini with Dallas Police.

The goal is to one day establish a national DNA database, so crime victims and their offenders can be identified.

"I don't care where you come from or what you do. You're family deserves closure if something happens to you," Wolf said.

At first some police officers had difficulty seeing the prostitutes as victims, but not anymore.

"From month to month, I've seen them change and look at it from a different perspective," said Karen Green, who also overcame prostitution.

Green hopes that view spreads nationwide.