DNA records to be deleted

The Government has agreed to scrap the DNA records of innocent people questioned over routine crimes in England and Wales.

The police will be able to keep the DNA of people detained under the Terrorism Act for three years and indefinitely for more serious crimes. But the move is expected to result in a massive reduction in the number of DNA samples held by the police.

The decision to delete these records forms part of the Government's proposed Freedoms Bill. This law seeks to redress the balance between the state and citizen by reforming the way that records on individuals are kept and used.

It comes two years after the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) criticised the Labour government's retention policy as 'unfair' and 'indiscriminate'. Until 2009, DNA profiles on those arrested in connection with crimes in England and Wales, but not necessarily convicted of an offence, were kept indefinitely.

Other changes proposed under the Bill include reducing the number of people who will have to undergo criminal records checks and reforming the use of technology for surveillance. This includes the use of CCTV systems and automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) systems.

Home Secretary Theresa May said: "Snooping on the contents of families' bins and security checking school-run mums are not necessary for public safety and this Bill will bring them to an end."

Although some civil liberties organisations do not believe the Bill goes far enough in regards to deleting DNA, Information Commissioner Christopher Graham welcomed the news. His predecessor Richard Thomas had warned in 2006 that the UK was "sleepwalking" into a surveillance society, "The Bill engages with issues that have been longstanding concerns for us," he said.