Sunday, May 03, 2009
Small victory on DNA
This morning's Observer carries good news in the fight to clean up the Government's DNA database so as to remove from it those who do not have a criminal record. They tell us that the DNA profiles of almost a million innocent people are to be destroyed as part of a major overhaul of the police national database. They include people who have been arrested and never charged, and those taken to court but found not guilty.
The paper says that an estimated 800,000 of the 5.1m DNA profiles on the database belong to people in England and Wales who have no criminal conviction. A Home Office consultation paper will also outline plans to delete all physical DNA samples on the database, including mouth swabs, hair and blood following widespread concerns that the samples could be shared with third parties.
It would be nice to be able to say that the government has taken this move because it has listened to the genuine concerns of campaigners and reacted accordingly. Alas that is not the case. It has been dragged to this position kicking and screaming by the European courts. What we have here is a forced change of policy not a damoscene conversion and as such there is a need for continued vigilance on how government rules are applied in the future.
The paper says that an estimated 800,000 of the 5.1m DNA profiles on the database belong to people in England and Wales who have no criminal conviction. A Home Office consultation paper will also outline plans to delete all physical DNA samples on the database, including mouth swabs, hair and blood following widespread concerns that the samples could be shared with third parties.
It would be nice to be able to say that the government has taken this move because it has listened to the genuine concerns of campaigners and reacted accordingly. Alas that is not the case. It has been dragged to this position kicking and screaming by the European courts. What we have here is a forced change of policy not a damoscene conversion and as such there is a need for continued vigilance on how government rules are applied in the future.
Labels: ID
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good news for innocent people and a proposed reduction in the info that the stae holds upon us. Problem is how will we know whether this info in the form of swabs, hair etc wil lreally be destroyed or will a covert quango hold this info, away from the medias attention?
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