Written question asked by Norman Baker (Liberal Democrat) on Tuesday, 28 March 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 30 March 2006. It was answered by Andy Burnham (Labour) on Tuesday, 18 April 2006 on behalf of the Home Office.

DNA Database

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his policy is on the length of time a DNA (a) sample and (b) profile can be kept in respect of an individual who has (i) been convicted of a serious or sexual crime, (ii) been convicted of a recordable offence other than a serious or sexual crime and (iii) not been convicted of a recordable offence.

Answer: All DNA samples and profiles are normally retained until the individual's 100th birthday or until the notification of his/her death. This applies to all recordable offences in respect of which the sample was taken.Individuals whose DNA has been taken and have not been convicted of a recordable offence may, if they wish, apply to the chief constable of the force which took the DNA sample, to request, in exceptional circumstances only, that consideration be given to the destruction of the sample and removal of the profile from the national DNA database.

Secondary information