Innocent children’s DNA stored for life
Posted on Friday, February 27th, 2009 by Home Office WatchCategory: DNA
The DNA profiles of nearly 1.1 milllion children are being stored on the national DNA database – and will remain there until the children’s 100th birthday, whether or not criminal proceedings follow.
The figures were obtained by the Liberal Democrats in a Parliamentary question, and show that genetic information of 1.09 million children under 18 is being held, 337,000 of whom are under 16.
The campaign group Genewatch has calculated that around half of the children whose details are held on the database are innocent.
Chris Huhne, Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary, said:
“We already know that guilt and innocence are of no concern to ministers, but clearly neither is the negative effect the database has on children.
“It is unacceptable to keep the DNA of children on record in perpetuity for the most minor of offences. Unless convicted of a sexual or violent offence, under-16s should not have their DNA stored on the database.”
You can read the full story in the Guardian.
Please help our campaign to protect innocent people’s DNA by encouraging friends and family to sign our petition at: http://ourcampaign.org.uk/dna
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