Privacy Fears Over UK DNA database

jukal writes "An article at BBC about the UK's DNA database as a privacy threat. 'More than 1.5 million DNA profiles are now held on the £187m National DNA Database and the target is to have about three million profiles stored by April 2004. '... this has alarmed the inventor of DNA fingerprinting (Professor Sir Alec Jeffreys), who has now 'launched an outspoken attack on the way the genetic profiles of suspects in the UK who have been cleared of any crime are still stored by the authorities'."

Comments

Re:Fingerprints?

[MutantEnemy]

Your fingerprints don't tell tell people how likely you are to develop certain diseases (information that might end up in the hands of Insurance Companies). Worse, it's possible that in the future, DNA might be used to profile people to determine whether they're likely to commit a crime, ie if research shows that certain genes are linked to criminals.

There are all sorts of implications of DNA storage that don't apply to fingerprints.

Fingerprints are destroyed if not guilty. Not DNA

[SomethingOrOther]

In the UK, you may have your fingerprints taken if you are arrested, but if found not guilty (or only guilty of a civil offence.... including traffic offences) the fiingerprints are destroyed.

ie In the UK only convicted criminals have there fingerprints on record

The natioal DNA database will not desrtoy the DNA samples but keeps them indefinately
even if you are found not guilty or are only convicted of a civil offence including traffic violations!

There was a huge uproar a year or so ago when strathclyde police began collecting DNA samples from motorists stoped for minor traffic offences. (Although I belive this practice has now stopped, it is still leagl and the DNA is still held on record)

Something to think about is often when a serious crime has taken place (rape, murder etc), police will often ask for every man in a large area to submit a DNA sample. Fair enough, many people do in order to catch the bastard resopnsable. However these samples are not destroied but are kept indefinately!

Call me a member of the tin hat bregade, but in an age of cloaning, I'm fucked if the government is gonna have indefinate access to my DNA, esp if I have never broken a (serious) law.

Police are also given the authority to extract a DNA sample from you by force if nessisary (shoving a swab in your mouth to collect cheak cells).