Debate on DNA database continues to rage

The issue of DNA profiling is likely to be embroiled in controversy in the run-up to the next election

DNA database likely to act as a lightening rod for civil liberties debate

In the run up to a general election the DNA database is likely to act as a lightning rod for debate around civil liberties and technology.

The issue has risen to prominence over the last year with the Conservatives keen to portray themselves as champions of liberty and enemies of the "database state" which they claim is a symptom of centralised bureaucracy.

However, the ID cards programme ground to a standstill after it became an easy target for both the Tories and the Liberal Democrats, and the civil liberties battleground has moved onto DNA.

And this debate hotted up last week after it was revealed during a evidence session to the Home Affairs Committee that only 0.67 per cent of all crimes are solved with the help of DNA profiles.

Labour MP Diane Abbott said at the session that the database risked alienating minorities, pointing out that 77 per cent of all young black males in England and Wales have profiles on the database.

"The existence of the database, the random way profiles are collected, and the difficulties put in the way of innocent people trying to get their details removed actually undermines police community co-operation," she said.

Part of the problem is inconsistency in the current system. Currently the decision as to whether profiles should be kept lies at the discretion of the police constable of the force in whose jurisdiction the crime was committed – and some pursue a relatively permissive policy, while five forces have refused to remove any profiles at all.

Critics argue that such inconsistencies in deletion policies undermine respect for the law, as does the fact that addition is inconsistent – a person stopped for speeding or arrested for shoplifting can be added, even if they are released within a day. While someone suspected of a far more serious crime may not have their DNA retained as a result of a police constable’s approach to the issue.

Police forces and other defenders of the database point to high profile cases that would not have been solved if these policies were not pursued, particularly that of the Ipswich strangler Steve Wright, who was caught because his DNA was on the database because he had previously been charged – and cleared – with robbery.

Chris Sims, the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) lead on the database, told the committee that in the case of serious crimes such as burglary, rape and murder, DNA evidence helps with around 40 per cent of convictions.

"The bigger the crime the more likely that DNA is to play a role," he said.

The government says the Bill will look to make it simpler and more consistent for people to remove their details, but are determined to push ahead with the six-year retention limit.

And Home Office minister Alan Campbell argued that the database does not itself discriminate against minorities.

"If there is over-representation [of certain groups] on the database that is a reflection of issues in the wider criminal justice system," he said.

Background to the debate

One of the first of the government's headline bills to be debated in parliament this session will be the Crime and Security Bill, already at its second reading stage.

The bill proposes to reduce the amount of time the DNA profiles of people arrested but not convicted of crimes are held on the database.

Currently such profiles are held indefinitely. The Bill proposes to reduce this to a six year retention period, with three years for children, while those convicted of crimes will remain on the database indefinitely.

The bill was introduced after the European Court of Human Rights ruled that two men who had not been convicted of crimes should have their DNA profiles deleted – potentially putting over a million profiles on the database in breach of EU law.

Last month shadow immigration minister Damian Green wrote in the Guardian that the system risked alienating sections of the public – particularly minorities - by presuming that they were guilty.

DNA database facts

• The UK was the first country in the world to set up a National DNA Database and has more profiles than any other country – over 4.5 million.
• Around one in five of these people are innocent.
• In 2008/09, the database was used to help solve 36,727 crimes including 252 homicides, 580 rapes and 175 other sex offences – around 0.67 per cent of all crimes.
• There are seven sets of triplets and 3,844 pairs of identical twins on the database.
• There is a very small, but finite chance that two unrelated people could share the same DNA profile. For these reasons police cannot convict a person on DNA evidence alone.
• Around 25 per cent of innocent people who apply to have their details removed from the database are successful.