Public sector news
Criticism of ethnicity recording on DNA database
28/9/2009The National DNA Database Ethics Group has called on the criminal justice system to standardise the recording of data on ethnicity.
In its second annual report, published the group says that the current data on ethnicity stored on the National DNA Database is 'not fit for purpose'.
The group has revealed that information held on ethnicity and skin colour is not consistent across different databases and that there is no standardised taxonomy. In addition, some sections of society are disproportionately represented on the database. As a result, data held on the Police National Computer, the DNA database and by the Office for National Statistics cannot be used for accurate comparison purposes.
The reports cites an example where "skin colour may be recorded from a witness to aid police investigations, whereas ethnicity is now regarded as being 'what a person feels that they are' and the two may be differently recorded". The group says that while the anomalies may have arisen for historical reasons, it is now unacceptable and needs urgent attention.
The group is also concerned about the inadequate statutory basis of the database, blanket rules regarding retention, the powers of chief constables over ownership of profiles and samples, and the lack of a simple appeals process which is easily accessible to the public. It recommends improving the statutory base for the database and its operation and calls for a simpler and independent appeals process established in law.
Home Office minister Alan Campbell said in a parliamentary written answer that he has asked the National Policing Improvement Agency and the National DNA Strategy Board for their comments on the report's recommendations as soon as possible.
