California law, like the laws in many other states, provides for the collection of DNA samples from convicted felons, arrestees in specified violent crimes, registered sex offenders, and individuals on probation or parole for certain crimes. When these samples are processed by a crime lab, a DNA profile may be obtained. The profile can then be coded, uploaded, and stored ("archived") in local, state, and/or federal computerized DNA offender databases. The offender databases can be searched electronically for comparisons and matches with DNA samples collected from victims and crime scenes.