§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department under what circumstances the new criminal records system, Phoenix, will hold personal data which relate to individuals who have been acquitted, or who are not prosecuted; and if he will make a statement on how long such data are retained.
§ Mr. MacleanData relating to acquittals and to cases discontinued without a caution will be deleted from the Phoenix system within 42 days of the date of notification, save for certain exceptional cases in which the data will be retained for a longer period. Rules closely defining these exceptional cases are currently being produced by the police service in consultation with the Home Office and the Data Protection Registrar, and I shall make an announcement once they have been finalised.
§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to introduce legislation which relates criteria for the retention of personal data which describes the analysis of DNA samples, fingerprints and criminal records to the seriousness of the offence; if he will list the current retention criteria; and on what statute the retention criteria is based.
§ Mr. MacleanLegislation relating the retention of fingerprints, samples used for DNA profiling, and national560W criminal records to the seriousness of the criminal offence already exists. Under section 27 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, fingerprints may be retained where the offender has been convicted of a recordable offence, and criminal convictions may be retained in national records where the offender has been convicted of such an offence. Recordable offences are defined in the National Police Records (Recordable Offences) Regulations 1985. Records of convictions for offences which are not recordable may be held in local police collections. Under section 64 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, as amended by the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, a sample taken from any person for DNA profiling purposes may be retained if it was taken in the course of an investigation as a result of which a person was convicted of a recordable offence. Samples from persons not convicted of an offence cannot be used in evidence against the person or for any investigation. Their retention is for technical, administrative and legal reasons.
The current practice is that criminal records for recordable convictions are retained by the National Identification Bureau for 20 years, provided that there have been no subsequent convictions; if, however, the conviction involves either homicide or terrorism, the record is retained indefinitely; and if the conviction involves indecency or illicit drugs, or a custodial sentence was imposed, or the record reveals mental illness, the record will be retained until the subject reaches 70 years of age.
Fingerprints are retained until the whole of the associated criminal record is deleted. Rules for the retention of criminal records on the Phoenix application of the police national computer will comply with the requirements of the Data Protection Act and are being developed by the police service in consultation with the Government and Data Protection Registrar. Detailed rules for the retention of samples taken for DNA profiling within the statutory framework set out above are currently being prepared, but the work is at an early stage.