Written question asked by Vincent Cable (Liberal Democrat) on Wednesday, 10 May 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Friday, 12 May 2006. It was answered by Gerry Sutcliffe (Labour) on Wednesday, 17 May 2006 on behalf of the Home Office.

Police

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in what circumstances the police retain DNA samples of people who have been arrested but not charged with an offence.

Answer: Under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, as amended, the police may take and retain DNA samples from persons who have been arrested for a recordable offence and detained in a police station. The decision whether or not to retain samples taken in these circumstances is an operational one for the police force concerned although it would be the norm to do so. Once taken, these samples may only be used for the purposes of prevention and detection of crime, the investigation of an offence, the conduct of a prosecution or for the purposes of identifying a deceased person.

Secondary information