One in 30 on DNA database

One in 30 Britons now has their DNA stored on a national database of genetic fingerprints.

The database reached the two million mark today, and is one of the world's largest. It is used to help solve an average of 15 murders and 31 rapes each month.

The Home Office minister Hazel Blears, who is in charge of police, today officially became the twomillionth person to have her DNA put on the database.

The Government is trying to make it easier to add DNA entries to the database. A law before Parliament would allow samples to be stored from people when they are arrested. Currently a sample can be stored only if a person is charged.

The move is expected to dramatically increase the number of samples stored but has led to claims from civil liberties groups and the Liberal Democrats that the system is being abused by the Government.

The Lib-Dem home affairs spokesman, Simon Hughes, said the Government is introducing a database of every citizen's DNA by stealth.

"Labour clearly has no scruples about including law-abiding people on the database," he said. "If ministers want a database of every citizen's DNA, let them say so instead of trying to create one by deception."

But the claim was rejected by Ms Blears, who said only criminals should be worried by the scale of the database.

"Law-abiding citizens have nothing to fear from the retention of DNA samples," she said.

"The crime-fighting success of the national DNA database is staggering. It has quickly become a vital police intelligence tool."

Last year alone, 21,000 crimes were detected using DNA evidence, up 132 per cent on 2000.

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