One in four DNA profiles could be of innocents

At least one in four DNA profiles being collected by the police are for innocent people, a study has suggested.

Figures obtained under the Freedom of Information show that of 4,668 DNA profiles obtained by Cumbria police between December 2008 and January this year 1,319 people – or 28 per cent – had no further action taken against them. However only 12 profiles have since been deleted.
The picture is very different in Scotland. Strathclyde Police collected 19,197 profiles over the same period, of which 6,856 (36 per cent) were for people who were subsequently not convicted. All those profiles have been deleted.

The two forces were the only ones among the 49 covering England, Wales and Scotland who said they were able to supply figures for how many innocent people were being kept on the database.

The remaining forces claimed it would require too much work to compare DNA files with records on the Police National Computer, which would show the outcome of arrests.
Campaign group Big Brother Watch, which submitted the FOI request, warned that under current system it is virtually impossible to comply with new laws, required under the European human rights rules, that demand records of innocent people be removed after six months.

Dylan Sharpe, campaign director of Big Brother Watch, said: "Up to a third of DNA profiles added each year belong to people who have never committed a crime, yet the system currently being used in England and Wales makes it virtually impossible for the police to delete innocent profiles from the National Database.

"This contravenes the European Court ruling and represents a significant intrusion into our personal privacy.

Source: Telegraph.co.uk