One million innocent people could have their profiles wiped from Britain's 'Orwellian' DNA database after court ruling
By Ian Drury Last updated at 1:50 AM on 05th December 2008 Nearly a million innocent citizens could see their profiles deleted from the DNA database following a landmark court ruling. European judges said it was unlawful for police to store swabs and fingerprints from suspects later cleared of wrongdoing. In a damning verdict, the 17-strong panel said keeping the records 'could not be regarded as necessary in a democracy'. Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said she was disappointed by the decision. But some campaigners said the future of other Government databases, including the national ID register, was in doubt. Before 2001, the police had to destroy DNA samples of individuals acquitted or not charged. But a rule change has allowed them to keep profiles of everyone arrested for a recordable offence in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The details of about 4.5million people are held on the database yet one in five - including 40,000 children - has never been charged with an offence. The Home Office says the register has proved a key intelligence tool in solving 3,500 cases - including high-profile rapes and murders. Yesterday however the European Court of Human Rights ruled against police in a case brought by two British men. Their profiles were stored by South Yorkshire Police despite neither being convicted of an offence. The Strasbourg court found the force had violated article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights - the right to respect for private and family life. In a strongly-worded attack, it condemned the 'blanket and indiscriminate nature' of the powers. < - > http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1091880/One-million-innocent-people-profiles-wiped-Britains-DNA-database-court-ruling.html# _______________________________________________ Infowarrior mailing list [email protected] https://attrition.org/mailman/listinfo/infowarrior
