Comments on: Why does the government want to add genetic profiles to the national DNA criminal database? http://www.heenamodi.com/2008/05/11/why-does-the-government-want-to-add-genetic-profiles-to-the-national-dna-criminal-database/ thinking globally, acting locally Tue, 17 Jan 2012 12:09:15 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Jonathan http://www.heenamodi.com/2008/05/11/why-does-the-government-want-to-add-genetic-profiles-to-the-national-dna-criminal-database/comment-page-1/#comment-31522 Jonathan Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:08:47 +0000 http://www.heenamodi.com/?p=171#comment-31522 Last week the Government announced that it intends to drop its proposal to retain the DNA of innocent people for up to 12 years. A recent European Court ruling held that there should be clear and justifiable reasons for holding onto the DNA data from people who have not been convicted of a crime. 100 Black Men of London has previously worked with other interested parties calling on the government to drop this proposal, culminating in a community event in August (which was jointly organised by Black Mental Health UK and GeneWatch). We cautiously welcome this latest development. It is positive news that the government has listened to the concerns expressed by many people about the decision to retain DNA samples of innocent people. But we now expect that the government to go further and instruct the Association of Chief Police Officers to immediately change the guidance it has given to its members on this matter. It is also imperative that the government and ACPO also seize this as an opportunity to review how there was such a racial disproportionality in the data that had been collected and take due action to address this. We hope that the Home Office's formal response to the EU ruling due at the end of the month reflects and addresses all these concerns. We will continue to work with other interested parties to ensure that there is appropriate vigilance on this matter. Last week the Government announced that it intends to drop its proposal to retain the DNA of innocent people for up to 12 years. A recent European Court ruling held that there should be clear and justifiable reasons for holding onto the DNA data from people who have not been convicted of a crime.

100 Black Men of London has previously worked with other interested parties calling on the government to drop this proposal, culminating in a community event in August (which was jointly organised by Black Mental Health UK and GeneWatch).

We cautiously welcome this latest development. It is positive news that the government has listened to the concerns expressed by many people about the decision to retain DNA samples of innocent people. But we now expect that the government to go further and instruct the Association of Chief Police Officers to immediately change the guidance it has given to its members on this matter. It is also imperative that the government and ACPO also seize this as an opportunity to review how there was such a racial disproportionality in the data that had been collected and take due action to address this. We hope that the Home Office’s formal response to the EU ruling due at the end of the month reflects and addresses all these concerns.

We will continue to work with other interested parties to ensure that there is appropriate vigilance on this matter.

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