Written question asked by David Davis (Conservative) on Thursday, 25 March 2010, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 30 March 2010. It was answered by Alan Johnson (Labour) on Tuesday, 6 April 2010 on behalf of the Home Office.

DNA: Databases

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of the familial searches of the national DNA database have resulted in a prosecution since the creation of that database.

Answer: Familial searches of the National DNA Database (NDNAD) are only carried out in cases of serious violent crime. They are undertaken on a case by case basis and only after authorisation from the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) officer for the police force requesting the service. They are used to identify a suspect who does not have a DNA profile on the NDNAD but who may have a close relative who does have a profile on the NDNAD.Data provided by the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) indicates that, since 2003, 33 individual suspects have been identified subsequent to a familial search of the NDNAD which suggested a possible relative with a subject profile on the NDNAD. Of these 33 suspects, five were deceased. The remaining 28 suspects were prosecuted, of whom 27 were convicted.

Secondary information