This is becoming standard government tactics. It falls foul of the
law and other quasi judicial bodies and is told to mend its ways.
Then what does it do? It delays, makes conciliatory noises and
finally fails to comply with any rulings it doesn't like. It thinks
it is above the law!
Think of just three:-
==Equitable Life - TWO Ombudsman rulings against the government over
many years and still the government will not see justice done to
those whose lives it wrecked
==The Ghurkas - fudge, broken promises and now they ignore a
Commons' vote
== DNA - They've been told it is illegal to keep DNA data on innocent
people, but they don't care. They know better than the lawe.
- - And more! Cannot some Labour MPs see they might stand more
chance of keeping their seats if they did not support this arrgant
government.
xxxxxxxxxx cs
=================================
TELEGRAPH 7.5.09
DNA profiles of innocent to be kept for 12 years despite European ruling
The DNA profiles of innocent people will remain on the national
database for up to 12 years despite a landmark European Court ruling
that they should be deleted.
By Tom Whitehead, Home Affairs Editor
similar period although the majority will have them deleted within
six years.
The proposals have been drawn up after the European Court of Human
Rights ruled last year that a blanket policy of retaining profiles of
innocent people indefinitely was illegal.
It means up to 850,000 DNA profiles, plus a similar number of
fingerprints, of people never convicted of a crime will eventually be
wiped from the database but the Home Office was accused of doing the
bare minimum to abide by the ruling.
An impact assessment for the Home Office said the plans may not meet
the requirements of the European Court while civil rights group
Liberty is already planning legal action claiming the proposals will
still breach human rights.
The Home Office warned removing the profiles would result in around
4,500 fewer crimes being detected each year. [There is barely a shred
of ecvidence for this at all. About that number of crimers were
cleared up by DNA but in not one case was it DNA records on the
database which helped. It was from matching DNA at the crimne with
DNA of someone already a suspect -cs]
The move will mean adults arrested but not convicted of serious sex
or violent offences, or terrorism, will have their profiles held for
12 years before they are deleted. The same applies for children aged
under 18.
Adults not convicted of any other offence will have profiles
automatically erased after six years.
Those aged under 18 in that category will have them deleted after six
years or when they reach 18, whichever is the sooner. However, if
they are arrested and not convicted of a second offence they will
stay on for six years whatever their age. [Both these provisions
put people wrongly accused into a category which boils down to
"People the police think to be guilty" -cs]
All genetic material taken from suspects, such as blood or swab
samples, will be destroyed.
The proposed retention periods are far greater than Scotland, where
the profiles of innocent people are kept for a maximum of five years
and only in the most serious offences.
Shami Chakrabarti, director of Liberty, said: "This well-spun
proposal proves that the Home Secretary has yet to learn about the
presumption of innocence and value of personal privacy in Britain.
"Wholly innocent people - including children - will have their most
intimate details stockpiled for years on a database that will remain
massively out of step with the rest of the world. With regret we
shall be forced to see her in court once more."
There are an estimated 5.3 million profiles on the DNA database -
around one in 10 people making it the largest of its kind in the
world - but around 850,000 are people who were never convicted of any
crime.
It will take up to two years just to process the innocent profiles on
the system and cost £59 million to destroy the relevant samples.
Anyone convicted of a recordable crime - an offence for which a
prison sentence could be given - will stay on the database for life,
as will under 18s who commit sexual or violent crimes.
Youngsters convicted of only one lesser offence will be deleted from
the database when they turn 18. The Home Office has already announced
that the DNA of children under 10 will not be retained.
Profiles of those who volunteer to have their DNA taken, such as
those taken in criminal investigation sweeps to eliminate suspects,
will also not be kept.
The policy of retaining profiles of innocent people has proved
successful in solving crimes when the individual commits an offence
later in life.
Mark Dixie was arrested after a brawl in the pub where he worked and
had his DNA taken.
He was not convicted but his profile remained on the database. Within
five hours, he was arrested for the murder of 18-year-old Sally Ann
Bowman nine months earlier.
The Home Office predicted some 90,000 fewer crimes will be detected
in the same way over the next 20 years if the proposals are implemented.
But figures obtained by the Tories showed the number of offences
solved directly because of a DNA match are already falling - from
21,098 in 2002/03 to 17,614 last year, including 83 killings and 184
rapes. In the same time, the number of profiles on the national
database has more than doubled.
Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, said: "The DNA database plays a
vital role in helping us do that and will help ensure that a great
many criminals are behind bars where they belong.
"These new proposals will ensure that the right people are on it, as
well as considering where people should come off."
Sara Payne, the Government's Victim's Champion, said: "I am pleased
with the Government's new proposals as I believe they strike the
right balance between individual liberties and the ability of the
police to apprehend offenders and bring them to justice."
Chris Grayling, the shadow home secretary, said: "The Government just
doesn't get this. People in Britain should be innocent until proven
guilty. Ministers are just trying to get away with as little as they
possibly can instead of taking real action to remove innocent people
from the DNA database. It's just not good enough."
Chris Huhne, the Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, added:
"Once again, the Home Office is fighting an undignified rearguard
action designed to give as little as possible in response to the
ruling of the European Court of Human Rights."
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