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Home Office

Answer

Mr. Best: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many DNA samples taken by the police have been destroyed in each of the last five years; and under whose authority in each case. [167728] Ms Blears: DNA samples are destroyed and the record of the profile derived from them is removed from the National DNA Database under the authorisation of the police force which submitted the DNA sample for analysis. Prior to May 2001, DNA samples obtained from persons who were charged or prosecuted and who were subsequently acquitted or against whom charges were dropped had to be destroyed. An amendment to the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 by the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 removed this requirement in respect of England and Wales but not Scotland. Samples may therefore have been destroyed and the profiles removed from the Database for one or more of the following reasons: they are duplicate records from the same individual, the individual has been acquitted or charges not proceeded with, the samples were taken in error, or the death of the individual. The police also instruct the laboratory which carried out the DNA analysis to destroy all of the residual retained sample. Records of samples destroyed are not held centrally. The number of subject profile records removed from the National DNA Database over the past five years was as follows: _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Number of records removed 2003-04 22,976 2002-03 21,229 2001-02 25,830 2000-01 77,336 1999-2000 59,957 _________________________________________________________________________________________________.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

420 c1296W; 167728

Session

2003-04

Subjects

Databases Evidence Genetics Identification of criminals

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk