Earlier this month Big Brother Watch released research with a comparison of the approaches of Cumbria (English police force) and Strathclyde (a Scottish police force) to DNA retention, namely:
- Between 4th December 2008 and 1st January 2010 Cumbria Constabulary collected 4,668 DNA profiles, of which 1,319 (28%) were from people later found to be innocent. They removed just 12 (0.9%) of these innocent profiles.
- Between 4th December 2008 and 1st January 2010 Strathclyde Police collected 19,197 DNA profiles, of which 6,856 (36%) were from people later found to be innocent. They later removed all of these innocent profiles.
Today we are provided with a more obvious comparison, courtesy of the BBC:
A move to allow Scottish police forces to hold the DNA of innocent people for up to six years has been thrown out by a committee of MSPs.
Labour's amendment to the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Bill would have brought Scots law in line with the rest of the UK.
But the proposal was opposed by SNP, Lib Dem and Tory members of Holyrood's justice committee. The amendment was rejected by five votes to three.
Yet what happened in our own UK parliament days after the election was called and we entered 'Wash Up' in the corridors of power? As this post may remind you, the Government fought for - and the Tories caved into - allowing the DNA of innocent people to be retained for six years.
In our election manifesto, Big Brother Watch call for the immediate adoption of the Scottish method - maximum 3 years and periodic removal of the DNA of those later found innocent - in England and Wales. Kudos to Holyrood's Justice Committee for standing firm.
By Dylan Sharpe
great post about DNA retention...
Posted by: Scotland Email Lists | 04/05/2010 at 02:09 PM
Innocents do not belong to this database
Posted by: Sarah | 23/07/2010 at 03:49 PM
It's not a day when you lounge around doing nothing.
Posted by: Jordan Shoes | 21/01/2011 at 07:24 AM