Report: Police in Britain arrest people just to get DNA

According to a report published by the British Government's genetic advisers, UK police routinely arrest people to get their DNA.

Retired police superintendent, quoted by Sky News, said in a letter to the Human Genetics Commission (HGC):

It is now the norm to arrest offenders for everything if there is a power to do so. It is apparently understood by serving police officers that one of the reasons, if not the reason, for the change in practice, is so that the DNA of the offender can be obtained. It matters not, of course, whether the arrest leads to no action, a caution or charge, because the DNA is kept on the database anyway.

The HGC report, Nothing to hide, nothing to fear?, published on Nov. 24, says the national DNA database for England and Wales is the largest in the world as it contains 5 millions samples. The HGC calls for parliamentary debate on the National DNA Database and recommends a series of improvements for the management and supervision of the database. The Guardian says there are 980,000 innocent people in the DNA database. The publication also notes that young black men are over-represented, with more than three quarters of those aged 18-35 in the database. A Home Office spokesman, told the BBC, "We know that the DNA database is a vital crime-fighting tool." The BBC says the DNA database has helped solve 32,200 crimes, or 0.7 percent of all crime.