Nothing to hide,nothing to fear? Balancing individual rights and the public interest in the governance and use of the National DNA Database
Source: Human Genetics Commission

Britain has the largest police DNA database in the world - five million strong and still growing - yet it has developed piecemeal without a specific Act of Parliament.  It needs to be regulated on a clear statutory basis and supervised by an independent authority.

This is the main conclusion of Nothing to hide, nothing to fear? a report* published today (Tuesday) by the Human Genetics Commission (HGC), the Government’s independent advisers on developments in human genetics….

The HGC recommends a series of improvements for the management and supervision of the database and calls for new guidance for police officers taking DNA samples, as well as closer monitoring to make sure they are following it.  It comes out against any proposal for the whole population to be on the database.
The report says:
• There is insufficient evidence at present to be able to say what use holding DNA profiles from different people is — this evidence is urgently needed to support decisions about the scope of the database
• There needs to be very careful consideration of the equality impact of the database and any proposed changes to it - there are real concerns about the potential for discrimination against certain groups in society, since groups such as young black men are very highly overrepresented.
• There needs to be a clear and independent appeals procedure for unconvicted people who want their DNA removed.
• All police officers should have their own DNA collected as a condition of employment
• The UK needs to make progress in working with the rest of Europe on exchanging DNA information and standardising procedures.

+ Direct link to document (PDF; 2 MB)

This entry was posted on Monday, November 30th, 2009 at 2:46 am and is filed under Documents in the news, Europe, Human rights, Legal and law enforcement, Privacy, Race, Science, Social and cultural issues, United Kingdom. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.