§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what(a) instructions were drawn up for and (b) safeguards were used by PSNI officers in the Newtownabbey area to protect against right to privacy violations in the use of DNA analysis to re-examine 538W forensic evidence collected in unresolved murder investigations; what the results were of these examinations; and what his assessment is of this experiment. [74170]
§ Jane KennedyThe Police in Newtownabbey are conducting a self-inspection of unresolved murders applying forensic technology, including DNA, as appropriate. Any DNA results obtained will be examined against the DNA database. The management of the DNA database is governed by legislation, including the European Convention on Human Rights.
The investigations are ongoing so it is not possible to provide an assessment at this time.