Youths with no criminal past are being arrested so their DNA
can be stored on a database, according to theMetro.
In the London borough of Camden, 386 under 18s had their DNA put
on record in 2008 and 169 so far this year, a freedom of
information request by Lib Dem parliarmentary candidate Jo Shaw has
revealed.
Privacy campaigners were outraged when government
announced plans last month to keep DNA information on innocent
people for up to 12 years.
Home Office guidelines currently allow the police to obtain DNA
from persons of any age who are arrested for a recordable offence,
ranging from drug offences to murder.
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.
A senior Met officer said anonymously that the Camden arrests
were part of a long term crime prevention strategy and that youths
were being targeted in case they commit future crimes, according to
the Metro.
However, the Met Police has strongly denied that there is a
crime prevention strategy in Camden for taking DNA and that
teenagers are arrested purely to obtain samples.
"Whilst any DNA samples obtained following arrest can lead to
more serious crimes being solved, we do not actively seek to obtain
DNA for this purpose," a spokesman said.
Police Officers operate within a legislative framework, he said,
which enables them to effect arrests based on individual discretion
that targets offenders, crime and criminality.
"The taking and retention of DNA is strictly governed by Home
Office guidelines and adhered to by Camden Police," the spokesman
said.