DNA EXPERT CRITICISES POLICE DATABASE EXPANSION
The scientist who invented DNA fingerprinting has expressed
concerns over the way the information is used as the Government
announced there will be an inquiry into the police DNA database.
Professor Sir Alec Jeffreys, who invented DNA fingerprinting in 1984, said: "When the DNA database was initially established, it was to database DNA from criminals so if they re-offended, they could be picked up.
"Now hundreds of thousands of entirely innocent people are populating
that database - people who have come to the police's attention, for
example, by being arrested or charged with a crime and subsequently
released.
"This was not the initial purpose of the database which was originally
meant to hold the DNA of convicted criminals.
"I have real concerns about the retention of innocent individuals on the
National DNA Database. There are also issues concerning familial
searching, where the database is used to identify possible relatives of
an unknown suspect in a criminal investigation."
The professor's comments come after it was announced that the Human
Genetics Commission, a body which advises the Government, will oversee a "citizen's inquiry" into the way DNA records are archived to fight
crime.
The GBP75,000 project opens the possibility of criticism being levelled at
the controversial system, which has already been accused of
disproportionately targeting ethnic minorities and retaining details of
too many innocent people.
The current UK database, which was launched in 1995, currently has the
DNA records of more than four million people. The records can be stored
indefinitely.
As part of the inquiry announced today, selected members of the public
will collate their own evidence and research the National DNA Database.
It is being primarily funded through the Sciencewise project by the
Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills.
Chairman of the HGC, Sir John Sulston, said: "We want to hear the
public's views on whether storing the DNA profiles of victims and
suspects who are not charged or are subsequently acquitted is justified
by the need to fight crime.
"The database has a preponderance of young men with a third of all black
males currently on it. And people are on it for life. On the other hand,
a steadily increasing number of serious crimes, including murders and
rapes, are being solved and criminals brought to justice with its help."
Sir John added: "The police in England and Wales have powers to take a
DNA sample from anyone arrested or detained on suspicion of a wide
variety of offences, from serious crimes like murder and rape to begging
or poaching.
"These powers to take DNA without consent are much stronger than in any
other country and it has been suggested that they might be extended even
further, to include offences such as speeding and dropping litter. There
is an important balance to be struck between individual rights and
public safety and we need to know how people feel about these issues."
Beginning this month there will be six weekly sessions of the 30-strong
panel in Birmingham and Glasgow linked by video conferencing, and backed
up by 200 observers from all over the country.
The inquiry's conclusions, due to be published in the spring, will feed
into the HGC's report to the Government on forensic use of DNA next
year.
ENDS