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Written question asked by Keith Vaz (Labour) on Friday, 8 June 2012, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 12 June 2012. It was answered by James Brokenshire (Conservative) on Tuesday, 19 June 2012 on behalf of the Home Office.

DNA: Databases

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individuals are listed in the National DNA Database.

[111279]

Answer

As at 31 March 2012, there were 6,969,396 DNA profile records on the National DNA Database (NDNAD) taken by all UK police forces, which relate to an estimated 5,950,612 individuals. At the same date, there were 6,512,884 profile records taken by police forces in England and Wales, which relate to an estimated 5,570,284 individuals.

The number of individuals is estimated because a proportion of DNA profiles held on the NDNAD are replicates, that is a person's profile has been loaded on more then one occasion, for example because a person gave different names on separate arrests. The presence of these replicate profiles on the NDNAD does not impact on the effectiveness and integrity of the database.

The data provided is management information and has not been formally assessed for compliance with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. As part of the

implementation of the Protection of Freedoms Act, work is under way to enable the removal from the National DNA Database of records relating to those without convictions in accordance with the provisions of the Act.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
111279; 546 cc866-7W
Session
2012-13
Subjects
Databases DNA
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk