Information on innocent people could be kept for up to 12
years on the DNA database under plans announced today.
The modified plans will see thousands of innocent people kept
for six years, with the time limit extended for those who were
arrested for serious crimes.
The DNA database holds the profiles of everyone convicted of a
crime. It also has details of those arrested, but not convicted, of
a crime.
The Home Office argues that it helps police convict people if
their DNA is found, and can be identified, at the scene of a
serious crime.
The European Court of Human Rights
ruled last year that the UK database infringes human rights.
Two men whose profiles were retained after an arrest took the case
to Strasbourg, and the judges ruled that holding the information
"could not be necessary in a democratic society".
The government has revised its policy in
response, and will not keep the profiles of innocent people for
longer than 12 years.
But privacy campaigners are not happy with the government's new
plans, saying those without convictions should not have their
details kept for such a long time.
Shami Chakrabarti, director of civil liberties group Liberty,
said, "This well-spun proposal proves that the Home Secretary has
yet to learn about the presumption of innocence and value of
personal privacy in Britain. Wholly innocent people - including
children will have their most intimate details stockpiled for years
on a database that will remain massively out of step with the rest
of the world. With regret we shall be forced to see her in court
once more."