England’s DNA data base has become an election issue. The opposition Conservatives have abandoned attempts to block the retention of DNA samples after a very effective campaign by the mother of a murdered girl whose killer was caught because his genetic record was on file for a minor charge. The Labour government has passed a bill allowing police to keep DNA profiles of those arrested, but not subsequently charged or convicted, for up to six years. However the opposition says that it wants this reduced to three years. They insist it is wrong to keep the DNA of innocent people arrested for minor offences

The government has been under pressure to change the rules about its DNA register, which holds 5.6 million profiles, because the European Court of Human Rights ruled in 2008 that retaining DNA samples from all people arrested, regardless of whether they were found guilty, was illegal. ~ London Times, Apr 8