In UK, ministers are to heed a court ruling that profiles of innocent people on a national DNA database must be removed. The Home Office says the number of people on the database could be cut by up to 850,000 to bring it into line with the Court of Human Rights. Those arrested but later released or acquitted will have their profiles removed after between six and 12 years. However, officials predict the changes could reduce the number of crimes solved by the police. Opposition parties criticised the proposed changes, accusing the government of “giving as little as possible” in response to the European Court of Human Rights judgement.
Last year the court ruled that the database in England and Wales’ was illegal – unlike Scotland’s which was deemed “fair and proportionate”.