Ethics Newsline®

LONDON
More people in Britain have their DNA filed by police than in any other country in the world, recent press reports indicate, and civil libertarians are warning of ethical repercussions.

The Guardian reports that three million DNA profiles are in the national police database.

Recent changes in the law allow police to keep samples from anyone who has been arrested, regardless of the disposition of the case, according to the Birmingham Post. Previously, samples had to be destroyed if defendants were acquitted or no charges were filed.

While DNA has brought about an increase in the solution rate for many crimes, the London bureau of the Sydney Morning Herald notes that critics claim DNA collection practices reinforce racial bias in the judicial system. Nearly four in ten black men are in the national DNA database, compared to fewer than one in ten white men.

The London Daily Mail reports that privacy activists have also raised concerns that the information from the database could be sold, perhaps to insurance companies looking to identify potential policyholders who are genetically predisposed to illnesses.