§ Mr. HealdTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the effectiveness of the national DNA database in identifying offenders. [111483]
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeSince it began operating in April 1995, the National DNA Database, operated by the Forensic Science Service on behalf of the police, has proved a highly effective intelligence tool in the fight against crime.
The Database identifies possible suspects of a crime through matching DNA from unsolved crime scene stains with DNA profiles of convicted or suspected people held on the Database. The average match rate is more than 40 per cent. and approximately 500 matches are reported each week to the police for investigation.