NO2ID

http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/486251 ... se_by_MPs/

Oxford student quizzed about DNA database by MPs

6:36pm Wednesday 20th January 2010

By Chris Walker

A STUDENT who was unlawfully arrested for littering in Oxford has spoken out against the Government’s national DNA database in front of MPs in Westminster.

Jonathan Leighton, 20, appeared yesterday before MPs on the Home Affairs Select Committee, who are scrutinising the controversial database.

The third-year undergraduate at St Anne’s College was arrested and had his DNA taken by police after trying to help tree protester Gabriel Chamberlain by throwing him a bottle of water in January 2008.

...

Mr Leighton told the Oxford Mail he had to fight for 11 months to have his DNA deleted by Thames Valley Police.

However, the force disputes the claim. Police spokesman David Paull said although Mr Leighton’s DNA was taken, it was never put on the national database, as he was not arrested for a recordable offence.

If he wasnt arrested for a recordable offence then why did the force take a sample of his DNA in the first place?

We are constantly told that DNA will only be taken for recordable offences but as we all know this is just PR lies, as this case quiteclearly proves.

KitFox



I wondered the same thing, until I read this:

Police spokesman David Paull said although Mr Leighton’s DNA was taken, it was never put on the national database, as he was not arrested for a recordable offence.

So I guess DNA is taken automatically upon arrival at the custody suite, probably by a civillian support worker, and then the minority that are arrested for an offence but not charged with a recordable offence are destroyed. That's a stupid system because firstly they are taking the sample when they have no power to do so, and secondly they are wasting both time and money (the DNA kits don't come cheap, and they come with some fairly complex and time-consuming forms). Alternatively, this is the action of some rookie cop who doesn't know what he's doing and somebody who did know what he was doing told him not to submit it for profiling, in which case it will probably have got bunged into a samples fridge and forgotten about.



I think you'll find that DNA is only taken for recordable offences at the vast majority of police stations for the reasons I gave. I really don't know what the Thames Valley force are playing at taking the samples for other offences because they know it's unlawful and they'll only get binned, so they are wasting time and money taking them. I suppose the good thing about this is that it go onto the database, which is the main concern.

Stu