Crimes missed after DNA omissions
Nearly 200 crimes went undetected because the Home Office failed to update the DNA database, an annual review has revealed.
Over an 11-year period, 183 crimes went undetected after forensic experts failed to upload 26,000 profiles to the database between 1995 and 2004.
The figures were revealed by the annual report into the National DNA Database (NDNAD).
A review conducted between September 2005 and January 2006 found 1,168 “matches” between DNA profiles collected on the database and forensic material retrieved from crime scenes.
Of these, 355 had not been picked up by analysts before and were sent to the police for investigation. This resulted in the identification of 85 suspects, linked to 183 crimes.
These included at least one paedophile offence, three robberies, nine burglaries, 19 drugs offences and 62 thefts.
A Home Office spokesman confirmed: “Between 1995 and 2001 there were a number of DNA profiles that could not be loaded on the NDNAM due to incomplete information.
“This amounted to just one per cent of all samples taken between these times.”
He continued: “Once the Forensic Science Service information the NDNAD custodian and chair of the NDNAD Board learned of the load failures swift action was taken to resolve the situation and by January 2006 all the profiles had been investigated and subsequently loaded or otherwise resolved.”
The government claims the Home Office has strengthened procedures since this issue was revealed. Forensic laboratories now submit weekly and monthly reports on any DNA profiles that were not uploaded onto the database.
Reports are scrutinised by the NDNAD quality team, who check the samples against the police national computer.
A Home Office spokeswoman defended the role of the database: “The National DNA Database is a key intelligence tool which has revolutionised the way the police can protect the public through identifying offenders and securing more convictions.
“It provides critical investigative leads for police investigations, providing on average around 45,000 matches per year.”
The Conservatives have been highly critical of the failure to upload 26,000 DNA samples.
“This latest shambles further undermines the integrity of the DNA database and reinforces our calls for a parliamentary debate about the system and for it to be put onto a statutory basis,” said shadow home secretary David Davis.
He continued: “What the government puts on the database is totally arbitrary. Criminals escape detection for some extremely serious crimes yet a third of those people on the database – over 1.1 million people – have never been convicted of a crime.
“Only this Home Office would have a DNA database that targets the innocent but not the guilty.”
The report revealed 3.79 million profiles are now included on the database. The Home Office said this translates to approximately 5.2 per cent of the UK population, making it the largest database of its kind in the world.
