§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has for a national DNA genetic fingerprint database; whether the database will be held on the police national computer; and whether the database will include personal data which relate to individuals who have committed no crime.
§ Mr. Charles WardleMy right hon. and learned Friend announced on 3 February that the Forensic Science Service and the Metropolitan police forensic science laboratory are to carry out a pilot study on the running of a national DNA database. The pilot study will be completed in March 1994 and it will include the development of the necessary IT software and hardware for a national database.
No decisions have yet been taken on who will, in the long term, run the national database. The national intelligence database will contain only DNA records of stains from unsolved crimes and of convicted criminals but of no one else.