Legal Questions and Answers by
Jonathan Stones of John Barkers
Question :-
I cannot understand all the fuss about the law being changed so that the police can
keep DNA samples taken from innocent members of the public during major crime
investigations, rather than having to destroy them at the end of the case.
DNA testing has been of huge assistance in solving crimes, including many old cases
which it seemed could never be cracked.
Innocent people obviously have nothing to fear from their DNA being held on the
national database. The only people who have anything to fear are criminals and their
supporters.
The sooner everyone is on the database the better.
Answer :-
I suspect that many people will be sympathetic to your point of view. There is no doubt
that the discovery of DNA has provided the police with a powerful new tool which has
achieved some quite extraordinary results, particularly in respect of very old crimes,
where it has been possible to take samples from evidence which has been retained for many
years..
That said, as a lawyer, I feel that it is very important that there are civil rights
groups who view Government or police proposals with a sceptical eye. They often make a
valuable contribution to the debate.
In this instance they are on shakier ground. Whilst it is true that DNA testing is
helping to solve thousands of crimes, it is perhaps worth bearing in mind that, back in
the 1980s, the very first success for the new discovery - in a criminal case - was to
prove that a man on trial accused of murder was not in fact the killer. It then went on to
identify the perpetrator.
The national DNA database will be increased to something of the order of three and a
half million samples as a result of the changes which are being proposed. The concept of
DNA testing everyone is not a starter. Apart from the civil liberties arguments, the cost
would be astronomical.
Testing an individual is an expensive business. For example to have a test done
privately to establish the paternity of a child costs two or three hundred pounds. Whilst
the police no doubt get a volume discount for the work, it is still not a cheap process.
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