§ Mr. BeithTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if persons asked to give DNA samples during the investigation of crimes are notified that the samples will be retained for future reference, whether or not they are charged with or convicted of the crimes under investigation. [39960]
§ Mr. Maclean[holding answer 30 October 1995]: When members of the public volunteer to give samples as part of a mass screening, the samples taken are compared only with the sample found at the scene of the crime under investigation. The samples are destroyed at the end of the investigation and the profiles derived from them are not retained on the DNA database.
When a sample is taken from a person suspected of involvement in a recordable offence, the police are required to inform the person that the sample may be the subject of a speculative search. Whether and for how long the samples will be retained is dependent upon the outcome of the investigation.
Samples taken from persons convicted of or cautioned for a recordable offence will be retained for the same period as the offender's criminal record on Phoenix. Samples taken from people who are acquitted or not proceeded against will be retained if another person from whom a sample has been taken in the same investigation is convicted of an offence. These samples may be needed for further comparative analysis if it is subsequently suggested that there has been a miscarriage of justice.
DNA profiles will be retained in a searchable form on the DNA database only if the suspect is convicted of or cautioned for a recordable offence or if action against that individual is ongoing.