DNA-UK?
This morning, the news media are reporting a startling recommendation by one of the UK’s most senior judges: that the Police National DNA Database (NDNAD) should cover every citizen in the UK, and every person who visits the UK. You can listen to Lord Justice Sedley talking with the Information Commissioner on the BBC’s Today programme here.
Bioinformation can reveal extremely private information about an individual’s family relationships and physical health. As we wrote in our submission to the Nuffield Council of Bioethics consultation on the forensic use of bioinformation, the Open Rights Group opposes the DNA sampling of the entire population, and can see no circumstances under which it should be considered.
However, Lord Justice Sedley’s recommendation does highlight the urgent need to address the regulations governing the NDNAD. Currently, DNA records of innocent people, including thousands of children, are kept indefinitely. There is no clear process for getting your DNA records off the database once you have given them to police, even if you only did so as a witness to a crime. Ethnic minorities and young males are disproportionately represented on the database, which is already the largest of its kind in the world. Lord Justice Sedley is right to call the current state of the NDNAD “indefensible”.
If you want to find out more about the NDNAD, visit Genewatch UK’s excellent information and action page, which has lots of suggestions about how to get your voice heard on this issue, as well as information about how to get your records off the database.
September 5th, 2007 at 2:40 pm
What the judge actually seems to have said is that it would be fairer to have a DNA database of ALL citizens, that just those who have been arrested.
This seems like a pretty fair assessment. You express outrage that the ‘records of innocent people … are kept indefinitely’, but surely it’s just as unfair to keep records of people who are found guilty (of crimes both minor and major). This just accentuates and perpetuates the trend of re-offending, introducing an enormous prejudice that those who have offended are much more likely to be later questioned/arrested/tried for further crimes which they may have had nothing to do with (false positives do happen, especially as the sample size gets bigger and bigger).
The question we should be asking is whether it’s acceptable to have a DNA database altogether, and if so, who should be on it, and what’s the retention period. Plus, should police be able to arrest/question people in relation to a crime purely on the back of a DNA match (with no other evidence)?
November 25th, 2007 at 7:35 pm
I have recently successfully applied to become a police officer and have been informed that I must provide a DNA sample. This is to remove the possibility of me being involved in any previous crime. I am more than happy to do this, but does anyone know that after my DNA has been checked against the database as to whether or not it is possible for it to be removed? I feel strongly that this is an infringement of my human rights and also my right to anonymity.
November 26th, 2007 at 12:37 pm
Fred
Removing your record from the NDNAD is a complicated process, but this Register article offers some instructions.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/04/26/dna_database_removal/
Be great to hear how you get on.
December 12th, 2007 at 10:30 pm
IF, and it’s a big if, only the police use the DNA database to help catch criminals, then it’s hard to argue against - the old adage - if you’ve nothing to hide you’ve nothing to fear.
However, as a database designer, I am aware that the biggest advantage of a database is the ability to perform analysis against the data within. It is very naive to not believe that in time, once everybody has been entered onto the database, the Government of the day won’t propose to use the database for medical research purposes, analysing disease, mental & physical traits etc. All very well and good you may say, but it is a small step for the information to be available subsequently to the insurance companies who fund the research.
Do you honestly believe they won’t interpret this data to identify the likelyhood of an individual to contract certain diseases and load their insurance premiums accordingly ? Not just health - car, life and any other kind of insurance you can think of ?
And what of the police ? Who is to say they won’t use analysis. Even though you’ve never committed a crime, your DNA says you have the traits of a murderer, rapist or whatever ?? Do you become suspect purely based on your DNA ?
Where will it end ? Who will eventually claim legitimate access to your DNA data - justified initially for a good reason which evolves into any reason ? Banks? Credit card companies? Car Hire companies? Supermarkets? And I have not even considered breaches of confidence, for which this government has a very poor track record.
IF you trust this government to ONLY use the DNA database for criminal acts then fine, if however, like me you trust them as far as you can thow them, then you ought to be seriously worried !!