Do they have to wipe my DNA from the database now?

andy w

The government have until March to respond to this ruling.
It is likely that they will end up with some botch of a procedure which will see innocents information kept for a year or so and than wiped.
The government will however try and weasel their way out of doing anything.

For the time being though your profile will remain on the database.

Big T

The Home Secretary has said that the government is dismayed by the decision, and will have to look at the ruling and examine its implications.
In other words, they are going to try to find a way round it.
If they do, then your fingerprints and DNA will remain on the record.
If they don't then there is every possibility that those records will be destroyed.
My suspicion is that they will try to make the deletion of records a matter which has to be requested by each individual to whom the ruling might apply. In that way, although many people will, in fact, apply to have their records destroyed, the usual inertia of the British will ensure that most do not.
The ruling, however, seems unequivocal. It says that, unless you have been charged, tried and found guilty, those records must be destroyed.
I and several civil liberties organisations are watching with interest to observe the wriggling and prevarications that the government will indulge itself in.
Incidentally, if you lived in Scotland, and any other European country, those records would have been destroyed immediately following your release without charge.

Old and Wise

Some people have gone through the courts and the court has ruled their data must be removed. The Lords has voted for it to be automatic.

See;
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/11/05/lord_dna_database/

It was the 2001 Criminal justice Act which removed the obligation on the police to remove DNA or fingerprints of acquitted persons or in cases where the case was discontinued. Currently there are 4,600,000 peoples DNA profiles on the state database; 800,000 of these have no criminal record.

One of the cases that was taken before the ECHR was an 11 year old who was acquitted of theft yet the police had taken and kept his fingerprints and DNA - seems daft to me.

Andrew W

In theory yes, but it will take a long time to implement.

The point of the ruling is that innocent people were being treated in the same way as the guilty. Regardless of whether it would make it easier to detect crimes or not, the police were in breach of human rights legislation.

I think it is good that innocent people should not have their DNA retained by the police. Hopefully this may put a spanner in the works of the idiotic compulsory ID card scheme as well - see no2id cards website:

What use can the police make of the card and the register?
Under clause 19 (3) of the Bill information from the register can be handed to or accessed by police for purposes of prevention or detection of crime. This provides substantial scope to use the information. Police may, for example, apply to link fingerprint information on the register to â€œcrime sceneâ€ evidence. They must however establish that they have taken reasonable steps to seek the information from other sources.

AL G

Great, we've established that it's unconstitutional, a shame we in the UK don't have a constitution!

The police forces are appealing the ruling saying it will help with their fight against crime to have the records kept on their databases

BlackSheep

In theory yes they should obey the court ruling, but we are living in Gordon Brown's police state now. So he probably doesn't give a rats ars e about 17 European Judges...and they had better not travel to the U.K or they will probably be picked up under the terrorism Act.

Ashley

No your fingerprints and DNA will stay in the system for the rest of your life.

nosdda

The Home Office said they will not act on this immediately.

Give me secession

Well, I define any minors DNA and fingerprints being profiled as un-Constitutional.

Furthermore, after being released without conviction I would file charges on them via your right to privacy.

Tara A

Your record will be cleared if you were proved innocent, but your DNA and fingerprints will be kept on file.

uk_pindar

to AL G
England does have a written constitution and about 60 ish years ago the English constitution was taught in schools. Just because it was stopped being taught and every effort has been made to make people forget about it doesn't mean it doesn't exist.
The major elements of the English constitution are:-
Charter of Liberties 1100
Magna Carta 1215
Declaration of Rights 1688
Bill of Rights 1689

Sorry for not answering the question ,NO they will hang on to your stolen dna as long as possible.

luludoodie

In theory yes.
I bet somehow they will avoid doing it as it is really useful to prove or eliminate people suspected of crimes.

Pegasus

Hopefully not,everyone DNA should be recorded.
They can have mine anytime, I have nothing to hide.

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