§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individuals on the national DNA database have not been convicted of a criminal offence; and what criteria are used to determine who should be on the database. [142174]
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§ Ms BlearsSection 63 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) 1984, as amended, provides powers for taking DNA samples from a person in police detention in the following circumstances
following charge with a recordable offence or notification that a suspect will be reported for such an offence;on an Inspector's authority, which may be given where the officer has reasonable grounds for believing the suspect is involved in a criminal offence and the sample will tend to confirm or disprove his involvement;following conviction for a recordable offence.Section 82 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 amends section 64 of PACE and allows the retention of a DNA profile where the person has either been acquitted or against whom charges have been dropped. There are approximately 109,000 such profiles.
In addition, DNA profiles may also be retained from people who have voluntarily given a DNA sample and who have given their written consent to the profile being added to the National DNA Database. This will principally include people who have taken part in an intelligence screening exercise where an offender is believed to live in a particular area. There are approximately 10,500 such profiles.