DNA Database – Slippery Slide to Big Brother or Eradication of Crime?
I opened the debate in Parliament on how far the national deoxyribonucleic acid database—the national DNA database—has the potential to transform our country into a low-crime society. I cautiously welcomed the technological advances made but also highlighted the potential to make society feel that they are living in the "Big Brother" house as the UK holds the largest amount of data in the world.
There are currently about 3 million people on the database, and that number includes what has been described as "virtually the entire criminally active population". By 2008, it is predicted to include 4.2 million people, most of whom would not have committed any crime.
The police currently have the authority to take DNA from any person who is arrested and detained for a recordable offence, including road traffic offences. Samples can be taken by force if necessary.
Recent Home Office figures show that where there is DNA at a crime scene, the overall detection rates shoot up: in domestic burglary, from 16 per cent. to 41 per cent.; in theft from a vehicle, from 8 per cent. to 63 per cent.; and in criminal damage, from 14 to 51 per cent. That shows that the average detection rate across all crimes rises from 26 per cent. to 40 per cent. for crimes where a DNA profile has been obtained. In a typical month, that equates to around 15 murders, 45 rapes or sexual offences, and 2,500 motor vehicle, property and drug crimes.
The country—and my constituents who travel into London day after day—face another gigantic threat from terrorism. Of the four July suicide bombers, we held DNA on only one. If we had had more, the police and national intelligence agencies could have established who they were far more quickly and linked them to other people, other addresses and possibly other scenes. If we are to reduce crime and make our community safer, we must remove or control those who pose a risk to our well-being and safety.
People in my constituency suffer from far too high levels of crime associated with vastly inadequate routine police resources, despite the overall increase in police numbers in recent years. Mercifully, very serious crime is rare, but when it happens, Kent police, under Chief Constable Mike Fuller, have an excellent record; we need only look at their performance over the £53 million cash heist that took place in Tonbridge.
If we are to make the best use of this technology, we must have a proper debate about it. At present, it feels as though we are moving towards a national database by stealth. Perhaps the benefits would be so huge in transforming the crime profile of this country that the public could be swayed in favour of the move. But it is up to the Government and Police to make the argument, and reassure those of us with significant concerns about civil liberties.
At present I believe that Civil Liberties are being abused - you only have to be
arrested for a crime to find yourself swabbed and on the database
forever, even if you turn out to be innocent. Perhaps we should look
at a voluntary database - increasing the number of people, thereby
making the police's job easier as millions of us could be ruled out of,
rather than in to, their enquiries.
However, I will be following this debate and holding the Government to account before we have a DNA database driven by stealth.
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