News: New Policy on UK DNA Retention

From the Guardian: Police have announced that they are to retain the DNA of those released without charge. Home Office Ministers say they want a 6 year limit (having previously sought a 12 year limit) for retaining profiles. Ministers are also advocating indefinite retention of those arrested on suspicion of terrorism or other national security provisions. Those convicted of any offence remain on the database for life. The Tories say they would implement the Scottish system whereby the profile of those unconvicted of any offence is destroyed on release from prison:

The national DNA database is already the largest in the world, with the profiles of 4.5 million people already recorded. They include 850,000 DNA profiles of people who have never been charged with or convicted of a crime. The need to find a new regime follows a landmark ruling in the S and Marper case by the European court of human rights, which ruled that the Home Office's current regime of "blanket and indefinite" retention of innocent people's DNA was illegal.