DNA profiling 'will transform policing' Ananova Thursday 21st February 2002
The Home Secretary says continued investment in DNA profiling to catch criminals would eventually transform the way police operate. David Blunkett visited the Forensic Science Service (FSS) laboratory in Birmingham where he loaded the 1.5 millionth DNA sample onto the National DNA Database. The figure marks a halfway point in the FSS's aim to store three million DNA profiles of criminals by 2004. After giving staff a swab of his own DNA and loading the 1.5 millionth sample, Mr Blunkett joked: "I have got mine on there. "I hope that they (FSS) will not be solving any burglaries or any other criminalities tonight, otherwise they will put them down to me." The Government has invested �187 million into a major expansion of the database, which began in April 2000 and is due for completion by March 2004. The number of profiles entered was doubled in 2000-2001 compared with the previous year, resulting in a 34% increase in matches and a 72% increase in detections where a match had been made. Mr Blunkett said forensic scientists now had the technology to look at unsolved crimes up to 25 years old in a bid to bring the perpetrators to justice. "This is going to be a transformation in the operation of the way the police do their job and the catching of serious as well as minor criminals," he said. The rapid growth of the service was making a real difference, said Mr Blunkett. In 2000-01, 14,785 crimes were detected using the database, compared with 8,612 the previous year. http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_526945.html ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Get your FREE credit report with a FREE CreditCheck Monitoring Service trial http://us.click.yahoo.com/ACHqaB/bQ8CAA/ySSFAA/zgSolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> ============================================== IF YOU'RE NOT PARANOID, THEN YOU'RE NOT PAYING ATTENTION! ============================================== To Post: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Home Page: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ParanoidTimes Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ================================================== NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ================================================== Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
