§ Mr. McMasterTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to introduce additional measures to increase the availability to police forces of genetic fingerprinting techniques and resources; and if he will make a statement.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonPolice authorities determine what resources should be allocated to their forces. It is then for chief constables to decide how these resources should be deployed. Tayside and Strathclyde police laboratories already carry out DNA testing or "genetic fingerprinting" and Lothian and Borders police plan to introduce such a facility when their new laboratory opens in 1995–96. Scottish police forces also have access to the facilities provided by the Forensic Science Service in England and Wales and by the private sector.
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