UK National DNA Database

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The United Kingdom National DNA Database (NDNAD; officially the UK National Criminal Intelligence DNA Database) was set up in 1995. As of the end of 2005 it carried the profiles of around 3.1 million people, over 585,000 of them taken from children aged under 16.^[1] At the end of 2006, this figure had risen to more than four million records, making it the world's biggest DNA database at the time.^[2] The database, which grows by 30,000 samples each month, is populated by samples recovered from crime scenes and taken from police suspects.^[3]

Only patterns of short tandem repeats are stored in the NDNAD – not a person's full genomic sequence. However, individuals' DNA samples are also kept permanently linked to the database and contain complete genetic informations. Because DNA is inherited, the database can also be used to indirectly identify many others in the population related to a database subject.

The NDNAD is run by the Home Office. The government retained control of the database from the Forensic Science Service in December 2005, when the Forensic Science Service was reconstituted as a company. Between April 1995 and March 2004, the database cost £182 million.^[4]

Contents 1 Database subjects 1.1 England and Wales 1.2 Scotland 1.3 Isle of Man 1.4 Channel Islands 2 Legal challenges 3 Origin and function 4 Controversy and privacy concerns 5 Issue is raised after two murder convictions 6 See also 7 References

[edit] Database subjects

[edit] England and Wales

Though initially only samples from convicted criminals, or people awaiting trial, were recorded, the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 changed this to allow DNA to be retained from people charged with an offence, even if they were subsequently acquitted. The Criminal Justice Act 2003 later allowed DNA to be taken on arrest, rather than on charge. Since April 2004, when this law came into force, anyone arrested in England and Wales on suspicion of involvement in any recordable offence (all except the most minor offences) has their DNA sample taken and stored in the database for 100 years, whether or not they are subsequently charged or convicted. In 2005-06 45,000 crimes were matched against records on the DNA Database; including 422 homicides (murders and manslaughters) and 645 rapes.^[5] However, not all these matches will have led to criminal convictions and some will be matches with innocent people who were at the crime scene. Critics argue that the decision to keep large numbers of innocent people on the database does not appear to have increased the likelihood of solving a crime using DNA.^[6]

[edit] Scotland

Only samples from convicted criminals, or people awaiting trial, are recorded, although a new law will allow the DNA from people charged with a serious sexual or violent offence to be kept for up to five years after acquittal.

[edit] Isle of Man

Samples collected by the Isle of Man Constabulary's Scientific Support Department from crime scenes are sent to the UK for testing against the database.

Samples from suspects are also added to the database, but are removed if the suspect is not convicted of the crime.

[edit] Channel Islands

Data supplied by the police of Jersey and Guernsey is also stored on the database.

[edit] Legal challenges

In November 2004 the Court of Appeal held that the keeping of samples from persons charged, yet not convicted, was lawful.^[7] However, an appeal has been made to the European Court of Human Rights: the case of Michael Marper and a teenager known as "S" was heard on 27 February 2008 by the European Court of Human Rights; a judgment is expected later in the year. If they win, up to 1m samples in the database - taken in connection with arrests which did not lead to convictions - may have to be destroyed.^[8]

The issue of taking fingerprints and a DNA sample was also involved in a case decided at the High Court on March 23, 2006. A teacher who was accused of assault won the right to have her DNA sample and fingerprints destroyed. They had been taken whilst she was in custody, but after the Crown Prosecution Service had decided to not pursue any charges against her. She should have been released expediently once this was the case and so her continued detention to obtain samples was unlawful, and thus the samples were taken "without appropriate authority".^[9] Had they been taken before the decision not to prosecute, the samples would have been lawful and retained as normal.

Census data and Home Office statistics indicate that almost 40% of black men have their DNA profile on the database compared to 13% of Asian men and 9% of white men.^[3]

[edit] Origin and function

The United Kingdom's National DNA Database (NDNAD) was set up in 1995 using the Second Generation Multiplex (SGM) DNA profiling system (SGM+ DNA profiling system since 1998). All data held on the National DNA Database is governed by a tri-partite board consisting of the Home Office, the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and the Association of Police Authorities (APA), there are also independent representatives present from the Human Genetics Commission. The data held on the NDNAD is owned by the police authority which submitted the sample for analysis. The samples are stored permanently by the companies that analyse them, for an annual fee.

All forensic service providers in the UK which meet the accredited standards can interact with the NDNAD. The UK's NDNAD is the foremost and largest forensic DNA database of its kind in the world – containing 5.2% of the population, compared to 0.5% in the USA.^[10]

The data held on the National DNA Database consists of both demographic sample data and the numerical DNA profile. Records on the NDNAD are held for both individuals sampled under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) and for unsolved crime-stains (such as from blood, semen, saliva, hair and cellular materials left at a crime scene)

Each day the NDNAD's records are automatically searched for matches (hits) between individuals and unsolved crime-stain records and unsolved crime-stain to unsolved crime-stain records. linking both individuals to crimes and crimes to crimes. Any NDNAD hits obtained are reported directly to the police force which submitted the sample for analysis. The NDNAD is widely acknowledged as an intelligence tool, for its ability to aid in the solving of crimes, both past and present. However, its rapid growth in size in recent years has been controversial because there are only a few jurisdictions that allow the permanent retention of DNA from people who have not been convicted of any offence.

As well as its daily automated intelligence search, one-off speculative intelligence searches can be initiated by scientists in instances where a crime-stain DNA profile does not meet the required standard for loading to the NDNAD. These searches can produce many matches which may be restricted by demographic data.

The latest innovative intelligence approach brought forward by the Forensic Science Service, is in the use of familial searching. This is a process that may be carried out in relation to unsolved crime-stains whereby a suspect's DNA may not be held on the NDNAD, but that of a close relative is. This method identifies potential relatives by identifying DNA profiles held on the NDNAD that are similar. Again many matches may be produced which may be restricted by demographic data. However, this technique raises new privacy concerns because it could lead to the police identifying cases of non-paternity.

[edit] Controversy and privacy concerns

The UK DNA database is the world's largest, and has prompted concerns from some quarters as to its scope and usage. Recordable offences include begging, being drunk and disorderly and taking part in an illegal demonstration. Many innocent people – including children from the age of ten – are arrested but never charged with minor offences, some of which may later be proved to have been committed by another person. Changes in the powers of arrest granted to the police by the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 have led to expectations of even more samples being added.

The Black Police Association has called for an inquiry into why the database holds details of 37% of black men but fewer than 10% of white men.^[11] A further concern has been raised over the 24,000 samples held of children and young people aged from 10 to 18 who have never been convicted, cautioned or charged with any offence.^[12] The use of the database for genetic research without consent has also been controversial, as has the storage of DNA samples and sensitive information by the commercial companies which analyse them for the police.^[13]

Given the privacy issues, but set against the usefulness of the database in identifying offenders, some have argued for a system whereby the encrypted data associated with a sample is held by a third, trusted, party and is only revealed if a crime scene sample is found to contain that DNA. Such an approach has been advocated by the inventor of genetic fingerprinting, Alec Jeffreys.^[14]

Others have argued that there should be time limits on how long DNA profiles can be retained on the Database, except for people convicted of serious violent or sexual offences. GeneWatch UK has launched a campaign calling on people to reclaim their DNA if they have not been charged or convicted of a serious offence, and has called for more safeguards to prevent misuse of the database.^[15] The Human Genetics Commission has argued that individuals' DNA samples should be destroyed after the DNA profiles used for identification purposes have been obtained.

The Liberal Democrats believe that innocent people's DNA should not be held on the database indefinitely. They have have launched a national online petition arguing that whilst they believe "DNA is a vital tool in the fight against crime, there is no legitimate reason for the police to retain for life the DNA records of innocent people."^[16] They revealed figures in November 2007 showing that nearly 150,000 children under the age of 16 have their details on the database.^[17]

The Conservative Party objects to the database on the grounds that Parliament has not been given the opportunity to vote on it. Damian Green, former Tory home affairs spokesman, issued a press release in January 2006 stating: "We do have concerns about the Government including on the database the DNA and fingerprints of completely innocent people.... If the Government wants a database which has the details of everyone, not just criminals, they should be honest about it and not construct it by stealth."^[18]

A YouGov poll published on December 4, 2006, indicated that 48% of those interviewed disapproved of keeping DNA records of those who have not been charged with any crime who have been acquitted, with 37% in favour.^[19]

In early 2007, five civil servants were arrested on charges of industrial espionage for allegedly stealing DNA information from the database and using it to establish a rival firm.^[20]

[edit] Issue is raised after two murder convictions

In February 2008 two men, in separate cases, were convicted of murder after being tracked down through use of DNA. Serial killer Steve Wright was arrested when DNA from his victims matched a sample he had given following his arrest in 2003 for petty theft.

In another case, 18-year-old Sally Anne Bowman was found murdered. Nine months later, chef Mark Dixie was arrested for assault after a fight in a bar. His DNA was taken and linked him to the murder. Following Dixie's conviction, Detective Superintendent Stuart Cundy, who had led the Bowman investigation, said: "It is my opinion that a national DNA register — with all its appropriate safeguards — could have identified Sally Anne's murderer within 24 hours. Instead it took nearly nine months before Mark Dixie was identified, and almost two-and-a-half years for justice to be done."

The calls for a such a register were, however, turned down by ministers and other politicians who claimed that it would raise practical as well as civil liberties issues.[1]

[edit] See also

• National DNA database
• Mass surveillance
• National Identity Register

[edit] References

• BBC Panorama
• Staley, K. 2005, The Police National DNA Database: Balancing Crime Detection, Human Rights and Privacy, Genewatch UK
• NDNAD Annual Report 2002/3
• http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/science-research/using-science/dna-database/
• "Has our DNA database gone too far?", BBC News