Law Weblog

Police are arresting people just to get their DNA

Wednesday 25 November 2009 at 2:01 am | In News | 1 Comment

Police are arresting people purely for the purpose of ensuring that their DNA is sampled and recorded on the police national database, a report by Government advisory body the Human Genetics Commission (HGC) has said.

The report recommends that police stop automatically taking DNA samples in England and Wales when someone is arrested and says that they should be given guidance on when and when not to take a DNA sample.

The report, Nothing to hide, nothing to fear?, says that it was told by a retired senior police officer that it was routine for police to make arrests whenever they could so that DNA samples can be collected.

“It is now the norm to arrest offenders for everything if there is a power to do so … it is apparently understood by serving police officers that one of the reasons, if not the reason, for the change in practice is so that the DNA of the offender can be obtained,” said that former officer’s evidence to the HGC. “It matters not, of course, whether the arrest leads to no action, a caution or a charge, because the DNA is kept on the database anyway.”

To counteract any actions by individual police officers who may be making arrests purely to collect DNA samples, the HGC said that guidance for officers should be published and their adherence to it monitored.

The report is here