DNA test requires united response

Published on Thursday 4 December 2008 20:00

THE European Court of Human Rights has ruled in favour of two UK citizens, ordering that their DNA should not be retained by the police because they have not been convicted of any crime. Police in England, Wales and Northern Ireland hold DNA from about 4.5 million people, collected during criminal investigations. But if a person is not charged or is found innocent, the DNA remains on file.

As a result, there are a number of cases where the DNA from these "innocent" files has been matched to other offences, including rape. The European ruling obviously reduce the chances of making these serendipitous matches. Equally, there is a question of equity in keeping DNA from some individuals who are not criminals, but not from everyone.

There is a question of proportionality here. No truly innocent person has been harmed by keeping their DNA, while having the larger national DNA database has served the course of justice and public safety. The government is considering the ruling but one obvious solution is to make DNA files universal – much as we all will have to provide biometric details if we want a passport. Scotland has not gone down the road of retaining DNA samples from those without criminal convictions. But whatever the decision at a UK level, this is one area where a common policy would be very welcome.