The DNA database held by authorities in Britain will not be multiplying further. The European court of human rights has ruled that retention of such profiles is unlawful.
More than 1.6 million records may now be destroyed.
The court also observed that the UK was the only one of the 47 members of the Council of Europe to permit the "systematic and indefinite" retention of DNA samples, reported the BBC’s news website.
The case
The ruling is a victory for two Britons who went to court seven years ago. Both Michael Marper, 45, and a 19-year-old man from Sheffield were charged in 2001. One for robbery at age 11 and the other for harassing his partner.
The police retained their DNA information.
The 17 judges decided that Britain had not respected the right to private life in this matter. Both of them were awarded 42,000 euros each in expenses.
Peter Mahy, the solicitor who represented both men told The Times newspaper that the result was a “fantastic result after a seven-year hard-fought battle against the UK Government”.
Undemocratic
"The court was struck by the blanket and indiscriminate nature of the power of retention," Reuters reported.
The judges of the court have been quoted in the Guardian as saying that this is "Could not be regarded as necessary in a democratic society".
Rights activists welcomed the verdict.
"The DNA profiles of roughly 85,000 innocent people should be taken off the National DNA Database," campaign group Liberty said in a statement to Reuters news agency.
Government response
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith was reportedly disappointed by the ruling.
She told Bloomberg news agency that the "DNA and fingerprinting is vital to the fight against crime, providing the police with more than 3,500 matches a month”.
A spokesman for the National Policing Improvement Agency, which manages the database, told the Telegraph newspaper that, "The National DNA Database is a key information tool which has revolutionised the way the police can protect the public through identifying offenders and securing more convictions.”
The judgment is largely perceived to be a huge setback for the Government and police.
Where from here?
Now, the government has until March to implement the ruling.
They cannot appeal against it and will have to propose a plan. Till then, the records will not be removed from the database.
In Scotland information related with the DNA of a person is kept on the database for three years if a he/ she has been acquitted of a serious assault or sex crime.
This is the model that many are expecting the government to consider very closely.
Showing posts with label police. Show all posts
Showing posts with label police. Show all posts
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
A DEEP VOID
As a reporter covering among other things, crime in Mumbai working for Times Now (A Times of India group company) and later another 24-hour English channel it was my job to regularly talk with the police.
A confirmation of a murder, a tip-off on some police investigation, a corroboration over the identity of some petty criminals or just ferreting out stories – a day would not pass when I did not speak with the Mumbai police.
We never loved our friends in uniform. And I am sure they never loved us. But the cat and mouse game of information seemed to be endless. Sometimes, the cat and mice became friends.
It’s a strange sort of friendship, but it blossoms over time. You start to respect a few good men and loath a most others.
The news of three top police officers being killed in the Mumbai attacks was hard to digest. Hemant Karkare was one officer that the force was proud of and his loss will always be felt.
Situated in zone 2 of the island city, the office of the Anti-Terrorism squad of the Mumbai police was an unending source of stories.
The boss of the squad was as many people described him – a gentle giant.
Karkare was from the 1982 batch of the Indian Police Service – the elite administrative cadre.
Ibnlive.com reports that he had returned to the state cadre (Maharashtra), after a seven-year tenure with the Research and Analysis Wing, Indian external intelligence agency, in Austria.
According to ndtv.com, Karkare was probing the Malegaon blasts case.
He was gunned down when he was leading an operation at Hotel Taj against terrorists who had taken 15 people, including seven foreigners, as hostages.
He was hit by three bullets in his chest.
The death of Mumbai’s top anti-terrorist officer is a devastating blow to a police force struggling to confine a burgeoning Islamist threat, reports the Times newspaper.
I spoke with a deputy commissioner of police after the incident and he told me that policemen are not used to being drowned in sorrow over the killings as they have to get on with the though job of policing.
This one instance, however, is an exception.
A confirmation of a murder, a tip-off on some police investigation, a corroboration over the identity of some petty criminals or just ferreting out stories – a day would not pass when I did not speak with the Mumbai police.
We never loved our friends in uniform. And I am sure they never loved us. But the cat and mouse game of information seemed to be endless. Sometimes, the cat and mice became friends.
It’s a strange sort of friendship, but it blossoms over time. You start to respect a few good men and loath a most others.
The news of three top police officers being killed in the Mumbai attacks was hard to digest. Hemant Karkare was one officer that the force was proud of and his loss will always be felt.
Situated in zone 2 of the island city, the office of the Anti-Terrorism squad of the Mumbai police was an unending source of stories.
The boss of the squad was as many people described him – a gentle giant.
Karkare was from the 1982 batch of the Indian Police Service – the elite administrative cadre.
Ibnlive.com reports that he had returned to the state cadre (Maharashtra), after a seven-year tenure with the Research and Analysis Wing, Indian external intelligence agency, in Austria.
According to ndtv.com, Karkare was probing the Malegaon blasts case.
He was gunned down when he was leading an operation at Hotel Taj against terrorists who had taken 15 people, including seven foreigners, as hostages.
He was hit by three bullets in his chest.
The death of Mumbai’s top anti-terrorist officer is a devastating blow to a police force struggling to confine a burgeoning Islamist threat, reports the Times newspaper.
I spoke with a deputy commissioner of police after the incident and he told me that policemen are not used to being drowned in sorrow over the killings as they have to get on with the though job of policing.
This one instance, however, is an exception.
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