Outrage as DNA profile of seven-month-old baby is added to register/French to force immigrants to give DNA samples

Posted September 25, 2007 · September 25, 2007

Outrage as DNA profile of seven-month-old baby is added to register

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=481997 & in_page_id=1770

By JASON LEWIS - More by this author » Last updated at 22:22pm on 15th September 2007

The DNA of a seven-month-old baby girl has been added to the police's national database designed to identify criminals. The disclosure reignited the row over the growth of Britain's DNA register, which is the biggest in the world. Human rights groups accuse the Government of building a genetic record of the entire UK population by stealth. It was revealed this year that more than 100,000 DNA samples had been taken from children, aged ten to 16, who have never been charged or convicted of any crime. Should you have the right to remove your personal details from the DNA database if you've never committed a crime? Tell us below in reader comments

Now the news that a baby's genetic profile is stored on the system saw leading campaigners react with horror and disgust. She is one of 47 children under ten whose DNA has been recorded and will be retained by the police until after their deaths. Civil liberties organisation Liberty said the baby girl's case was "a chilling example of how out of control the DNA database has become". Children can be added to the register only with their parents' agreement, but Liberty director Shami Chakrabarti said: "This baby has not given her consent to be on this criminal database. Who knows the circumstances that led to her parent or guardian agreeing to put her profile on the system?" She added: "DNA is the most intimate material. It can be used to identify who your parents are, and indicate your life expectancy. "Should the police be able to keep this information about this little girl – and thousands like her – forever?" Commons Home Affairs Committee chairman Keith Vaz said that the case was "unbelievable". The former Europe Minister added: "This is not what this system was set up for and I will be demanding an explanation from Ministers." The Mail on Sunday has learned that the baby's DNA sample was taken earlier this year by West Yorkshire Police. According to the National Policing Improvement Agency, it was loaded on to the database "with parental/guardian consent as a volunteer victim". A West Yorkshire Police spokesman confirmed they had taken the baby's DNA, but said it was at the request of West Midlands Police. However, the Birmingham-based force refused to discuss the circumstances of the case. Amazingly, a spokeswoman claimed they could not find any details without the child's name or date of birth. The information about the baby girl's record came out after a Freedom of Information request by The Mail on Sunday which revealed that DNA samples of 47 children under ten were kept on the system. Gavin McKinnon, of the NPIA, said profiles of 38 children were put on the register by police in England and Wales and nine by forces in Scotland. Two of the English and Welsh samples were taken "following police contact", the others were "volunteered with written consent of a parent or guardian". He added: "Separate written consent is also needed to load the sample on to the database." In Scotland, where the age of criminal responsibility is eight, the nine samples were provided by children who had been arrested for an offence. Mr McKinnon said that in England and Wales "officers cannot take samples from a child under ten without a parent or guardian's consent." He added: "Volunteer samples for upload to the database can play an important role in an investigation." They are normally taken to "eliminate an individual's profile" – for example, witnesses at a crime scene – and where there is a "need to establish a family link as part of an investigation". A Home Office spokeswoman said samples from children under ten were only taken and retained on the database "with explicit written consent" of their parents. She said: "Anyone can apply to the chief constable of the force that took the sample to ask for it to be removed." But civil rights campaigners say that, in practice, it is very difficult to get your DNA wiped off the register. Last week lawyers from Liberty finally won a six-month battle with Avon and Somerset Constabulary to have the DNA of an innocent 13-year-old boy removed from the national database. He had been falsely accused of writing graffiti. The database permanently retains the DNA of approximately four million people. This month Appeal Court judge Lord Justice Sedley called for it to be expanded to include everyone living in or visiting the UK.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=482909 & in_page_id=1811

French to force immigrants to give DNA samples

The lower house of the French parliament approved a bill that would allow immigrants to provide DNA samples in support of their applications to join relatives in France. The National Assembly voted 91 to 45 to allow a trial run of DNA testing for immigrants until 2010 - a measure that critics say betrays France's humanitarian values, and that even some Cabinet ministers dislike. "This is no longer a debate between left and right - it's a debate within our own conscience," said Patrick Braouezec, a law-maker from the opposition Communist Party. An amendment on DNA use passed in a thinly attended, late-night session.

£1m interpreters bill for police force as it struggles with influx of immigrants

It is part of a broader immigration bill presented by Brice Hortefeux, a longtime friend of President Nicolas Sarkozy who heads the newly created Ministry of Immigration and National Identity. For the bill to become law, the upper house - the Senate - also must approve it. The higher chamber is expected to take up the bill on 2 October. The bill would allow consular officials at French embassies to request DNA tests from applicants seeking long-term visas to join their family members in France. The DNA tests would be voluntary. The measure is aimed at proving familial ties in cases where officials have doubts about the authenticity of a marriage certificate, birth certificate or other official document presented. Proponents say DNA tests would help speed up processing of applications. The author of the amendment - ruling conservative party lawmaker Thierry Mariani - argued that it would give immigrants another way to support their applications. Opponents call the measure discriminatory. The DNA tests would be at the expense of the applicants, which Mariani estimated at about £210 each. Another of the bill's most controversial provisions would require candidates for entry to undergo French language tests - or even receive language training before moving to France. France, like many European countries, has been looking for ways to curb illegal immigration, mainly from Africa. The French government has recently pressed police to step up expulsions of illegals in France.