Police hold on to DNA records of youngsters
5:47pm Tuesday 11th December 2007
THE DNA profiles of 2,805 children under the age of 16 are being stored on a police database.
West Worcestershire's Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate Richard Burt said he is outraged that the details of so many youngsters in West Mercia - which includes Worcestershire and Hereford-shire are being held.
Mr Burt said if youngsters are not charged with an offence, their details should be removed.
He said: "It's an infringement of anybody's civil liberties to have their DNA captured by the police and kept when they have never been guilty of an offence, and particularly so for children. I think we are moving towards a Big Brother society where the organs of the state collect more and more personal information about citizens in order to control their lives.
"Clearly there is a value for using DNA to solve crimes, but what the Government and police need to do is find a more logical way of handling the data that preserves individual freedom."
The figures, which were released following a recent Parliamentary Questions session, show the breakdown profiles held on the national database for police forces.
West Mercia's include 6,156 16 to 18-year-olds, 5,049 19 to 20-year-olds, 24,641 21 to 30-year-olds, 16,201 31 to 40-year-olds, 10,581 41 to 50-year-olds, 4,988 51 to 60-year-olds and 2,485 over the age of 60.
In 2001 new laws enabled police to retain profiles, even if someone is not charged.
Before this, samples had to destroyed if the person concerned was acquitted or charges were dropped.
Worcester MP Mike Foster said: "It's a cheap soundbite from the Liberal Democrats, who clearly still have no concern for the fears of the victims of crime across the county of Worcestershire.
"A quarter of all those arrested are actually aged under 18 and that can include some very serious offences.
"It's not a criminal record, but does enable investigators to access records to solve crimes and I would have thought Richard Burt would applaud that if he was serious about law and order."
DNA details can be taken from anyone arrested for a recordable offence and detained in a police station.
The database is managed by the Forensic Science Service, Birmingham.
A West Mercia spokesperson said: "Under 18s make up 23 per cent of all arrests, and so a comparative proportion of profiles is to be expected. There are no legal powers to take a DNA sample from anyone under 10 without the consent of a parent or legal guardian."