DNA database ‘out of control’ -Pearcey

Liberal Democrat PPC for Bolton West Jackie Pearcey has condemned the DNA database as out of control.  The database is supposed to comprise convicted criminals, however it has expanded to include hundreds of thousands of people who have never been convicted, or even charged with any crimes.

Jackie Pearcey

Jackie Pearcey said “There are many children on the database, who have had their DNA taken for trivial matters such as dropping litter.  They are stigamatised by being on this database, alongside rapists and murderers.  Now it turns out that a 1 year old baby is on the database.  There is no crime which a 1 year old baby can commit which could possily justify keeping their DNA on a police database.

“Years back, when police took fingerprints from people who were not suspects, but needed to have their prints eliminated from a scene of crime, these fingerprints were always destroyed after the case was completed.  However it seems that DNA samples are kept forever.  The Government should ensure that when people allow their DNA to be sampled in order to help forensic experts to understand a scene of crime, the samples should be destroyed, like fingerprints used to be.”