Wow, very interesting story...
Story
Worried police refuse to give DNA samples
BY DAVID TAYLOR
THOUSANDS of police officers have refused to give DNA samples to a new Home
Office database amid concerns that the genetic fingerprints could be used against
them in paternity suits.
Police officers are also said to be anxious that their samples could be used to check for
drugs, but their big concern is that the Child Support Agency will be able to access the
computer database in a bid to track down fathers who shirk their responsibility.
The Home Office wants to collect DNA profiles of all officers who come into contact
with evidence at crime scenes so they can be eliminated as suspects.
Advances in forensic science mean tiny quantities of saliva, sweat, hairs, microscopic
blood spots, semen or even skin cells can provide virtually conclusive proof of an
alleged offender's presence at a crime scene.
It is now possible to produce a full genetic fingerprint of someone who has merely
brushed against a surface while committing an offence.
The Home Office wants to hold samples of 75,000 officers who might be expected to
work at the scenes of crime. But the scheme, launched in February with £3million
Home Office backing for processing and loading files, has so far received only 21,000
samples from the officers asked to volunteer.
The Home Office hopes it will have all of the target profiles by the end of July, but
officials have been forced to reassure officers that their cell samples will not be used
as a means of proving they are errant fathers or to expose them as drug users.
Peter Hands, regional manager of the DNA training project for the Forensic Science
Service, said: "Some officers are absolutely convinced that outside agencies such as
the CSA will have access to the elimination database.
"This is untrue. A search can only be requested by a senior officer against a specific
named officer for elimination purposes on a specific crime."
Mr Hands makes the point that every police recruit is required to give fingerprints so
forensic officers can eliminate rogue prints from their inquiries. He added: "The use of
the DNA database will be no different from the way in which those fingerprints are
used."
The reluctance of some rank and file officers to comply makes a mockery of the
expectations placed on members of the public who are routinely asked to volunteer for
mass DNA screening to help police eliminate innocent people from rape inquiries.
The rape of two teenage girls in a Surrey park earlier this year prompted DNA testing
of 12,000 on a nearby estate and surrounding area as police hunted a local man.
Prime Minister Tony Blair consented to a swab being taken of cells from inside his
mouth last year as he promoted moves to expand the national DNA database.
He wants all police forces to follow the example of the Metropolitan Police where
DNA samples are taken from all suspects arrested for offences carrying a prison
sentence.A Home Office spokesman said profiles would not be checked against
existing databases to see if serving police officers could be linked to unsolved crimes.
And they would be destroyed when officers retired.
------------------
~USP
"[Even if there would be] few tears shed if and when the Second Amendment is held to guarantee nothing more than the state National Guard, this would simply show that the Founders were right when they feared that some future generation might wish to abandon liberties that they considered essential, and so sought to protect those liberties in a Bill of Rights. We may tolerate the abridgement of property rights and the elimination of a right to bear arms; but we should not pretend that these are not reductions of rights." -- Justice Scalia 1998
Story
Worried police refuse to give DNA samples
BY DAVID TAYLOR
THOUSANDS of police officers have refused to give DNA samples to a new Home
Office database amid concerns that the genetic fingerprints could be used against
them in paternity suits.
Police officers are also said to be anxious that their samples could be used to check for
drugs, but their big concern is that the Child Support Agency will be able to access the
computer database in a bid to track down fathers who shirk their responsibility.
The Home Office wants to collect DNA profiles of all officers who come into contact
with evidence at crime scenes so they can be eliminated as suspects.
Advances in forensic science mean tiny quantities of saliva, sweat, hairs, microscopic
blood spots, semen or even skin cells can provide virtually conclusive proof of an
alleged offender's presence at a crime scene.
It is now possible to produce a full genetic fingerprint of someone who has merely
brushed against a surface while committing an offence.
The Home Office wants to hold samples of 75,000 officers who might be expected to
work at the scenes of crime. But the scheme, launched in February with £3million
Home Office backing for processing and loading files, has so far received only 21,000
samples from the officers asked to volunteer.
The Home Office hopes it will have all of the target profiles by the end of July, but
officials have been forced to reassure officers that their cell samples will not be used
as a means of proving they are errant fathers or to expose them as drug users.
Peter Hands, regional manager of the DNA training project for the Forensic Science
Service, said: "Some officers are absolutely convinced that outside agencies such as
the CSA will have access to the elimination database.
"This is untrue. A search can only be requested by a senior officer against a specific
named officer for elimination purposes on a specific crime."
Mr Hands makes the point that every police recruit is required to give fingerprints so
forensic officers can eliminate rogue prints from their inquiries. He added: "The use of
the DNA database will be no different from the way in which those fingerprints are
used."
The reluctance of some rank and file officers to comply makes a mockery of the
expectations placed on members of the public who are routinely asked to volunteer for
mass DNA screening to help police eliminate innocent people from rape inquiries.
The rape of two teenage girls in a Surrey park earlier this year prompted DNA testing
of 12,000 on a nearby estate and surrounding area as police hunted a local man.
Prime Minister Tony Blair consented to a swab being taken of cells from inside his
mouth last year as he promoted moves to expand the national DNA database.
He wants all police forces to follow the example of the Metropolitan Police where
DNA samples are taken from all suspects arrested for offences carrying a prison
sentence.A Home Office spokesman said profiles would not be checked against
existing databases to see if serving police officers could be linked to unsolved crimes.
And they would be destroyed when officers retired.
------------------
~USP
"[Even if there would be] few tears shed if and when the Second Amendment is held to guarantee nothing more than the state National Guard, this would simply show that the Founders were right when they feared that some future generation might wish to abandon liberties that they considered essential, and so sought to protect those liberties in a Bill of Rights. We may tolerate the abridgement of property rights and the elimination of a right to bear arms; but we should not pretend that these are not reductions of rights." -- Justice Scalia 1998
