DNA records will no longer be kept on innocent people questioned over routine crimes in England and Wales, the Government has said. It will still keep samples of those questioned in connection with terrorist offences.
The move is a major change in Government policy and will result in a massive reduction in the number of innocent people whose DNA is held by police. The move comes two years after the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) called the policy for England and Wales an unfair interference with subjects’ rights to privacy.
It forms part of the Government’s Freedoms Bill, a law that seeks to reform the way that records on individuals are kept and used, amongst other things. The Bill will reduce the number of people who will have to undergo criminal records checks; reform the law on investigations into individuals; reduce stop and search powers; and reduce the allowed period of pre-charge detention to 14 days.
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