2009年11月11日_1

how many crimes have been solved because someone cleared of one

offence has been later linked to another solely through the unique

genetic fingerprint obtained from their DNA.

One recent government figure suggests that less than 1% of all

recorded crime is solved with the database's help - although most

police investigations do not involve DNA at all.

'Unfinished research'

The European Court ruling last year said the system in England and

Wales breached basic rights because it allowed police to retain

indefinitely the DNA samples of anyone arrested in an

investigation, even if they were later neither charged nor

convicted.

Northern Ireland's DNA database is administered separately but

follows the same model and is therefore, in practice, also in

breach of the European Court's judgment.

Scotland's part of the database was given the all clear because

police delete DNA profiles of most people who are not convicted. In

all four parts of the UK, police take DNA swabs from suspects

shortly after their arrest.

Liberty's Shami Chakrabarti: The database is 'way out of

proportion'

The Home Office has already deleted the profiles of children under

10 years old to comply with the European Court's ruling, but has

been considering how to deal with the rest of the estimated one

million samples from people who have not been convicted.

Earlier this year it proposed time limits of six or 12 years

depending on the nature of the crime for which a suspect had been

arrested.

These figures were drawn from research by the Jill Dando Institute

of Crime Science.

Its director subsequently accused the Home Office of basing the

proposals on unfinished research which did not prove the case for

any particular time limit.

Fundamental principles

The proposals being outlined later on Wednesday are expected to

discount the 12 year figure and propose different rules for the

under-18s.

But the Equality and Human Rights Commission said such a proposal

would not meet requirements set by the court ruling that data

should be held only when there were 'clear, justifiable reasons'

for doing so.

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title='2009年11月11日' />

NATIonAL DNA DATAbase Profiles: 5.9m Individuals: 5.1m Estimated proportion of replicate profiles: 14% Estimate for people neither charged nor convicted: 20% Crimes solved with database's help: 32,200 (0.68% of all crime) Profiles removed March-Oct 2009: 255 Source: Home Office/Parliamentary questions width='226' height='1' title='2009年11月11日' /> Q&A: The national DNA database Send us your comments

The shadow home secretary, Chris Grayling, told BBC Radio 4's Today

programme a future Conservative government would adopt the system

in place in Scotland, where DNA samples are kept for no longer than

five years and in relatively minor cases destroyed at the end of

the inquiry.

He added: 'What I don't think we should be doing is saying to

absolutely everybody who is pulled into a police station for any

reason, 'Your DNA will be taken and it will be stored

indefinitely,' as is the case at the moment, or indeed will be

stored for up to six years as the government appear to be

proposing'.

'One of the fundamental principles of our criminal justice system

is that you're innocent until proven guilty and I think this

actually rather undermines that principle.'

Former detective Hamish Brown says the DNA database is an important

tool

Julie Bindel, from the campaign group Justice for Women, told Today

she understood the fears of discrimination against those whose DNA

profiles are kept - but the needs of victims also had to be

considered.

'It may be that we need to think about a national database,' she

said.

'It's something that we feel uncomfortable with, but so many crimes

have been solved by DNA and so many crimes have also been solved by

acquitting those who have been falsely accused - some of the worst

miscarriages of justice.

'And I think for women particularly who've been raped and who don't

get justice we have to balance their rights against the rights of

those who don't like the idea of having their DNA on record.'

Shami Chakrabarti, director of the campaign group Liberty, told BBC

News: 'The government has been stockpiling the DNA of completely

innocent people including children and the more innocent DNA you

keep the greater the risk of accident, error and abuse.'

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