+353 (1) 685 6929 There are currently 3 million DNA samples stored in the UK National Database, with the Home Office expecting figures to rise to 4.25 million in the next two years.
The database includes 139,463 people never charged or cautioned with an offence, as suspects arrested over any imprisonable offence can have their DNA held even if they are acquitted. Matches using newly-lawful DNA samples have been made to 88 murders, 45 attempted murders, 116 rapes and 62 sexual offences. In all, 7,500 of these have been matched to 10,000 offences.
The number of crimes solved through DNA technology has quadrupled over the past five years, with the database holding more than 198,000 samples that would have been destroyed under the old law. This means that police are now able to track down repeat offenders by comparing DNA samples with other family members who may be on the database.
Liberal Democrat Home Affairs spokeswoman, Lynne Featherstone, has called this, “an intolerable infringement of liberty and personal privacy”. In comparison to the EU average of 1.13% and the US average of 0.5%, 5.24% of the UK population now has a DNA profile held on the database.
Further criticism has come from the Shadow Home Office Minister, Damian Green, who stated that, “If the government wants a database that has the details of everyone, not just criminals, they should be honest about it”.
UK Home Secretary Charles Clarke said the UK had “one of the best developed systems in the world” whereas far as DNA profiling was concerned, telling BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, “Properly and therefore lawfully used, I think it’s a technique we should use. This technique is one we throw away at our peril.”
In a specific case from last November, a 50-year-old builder was found guilty of a murder and rape he committed in Essex 27 years ago.
A DNA sample taken from a glass he was drinking from years after the crime matched a sample on the database taken at the crime scene. However, even with cases like this highlighting the benefits of the system, it still has its still critics.
“There is no purpose or justification for keeping the DNA record of anyone who is not charged with an offence,” says Featherstone, “We cannot be absolutely certain that there will be no misuse of the DNA database”.
Date: Jan 2006
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