Figures obtained by the Liberal Democrats through Parliamentary Questions show that the proportion of children added to the database is growing.
Between October and January this year 25 per cent of people added were 18 or younger, compared with less than 11 per cent of those already on the database.
‘Big Brotherish‘
“These shocking figures demonstrate just how many children are being dragged into the criminal justice system by the Government,” said Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson, Jenny Willott.
But a Home Office spokesperson said people had “nothing to fear” from the database, which is now thought to hold the DNA of one in 20 Britons.
“Under 18s make up approximately a quarter of all arrests, thus a comparable proportion of young persons’ profiles on the [database] should not be unexpected,” they told The Telegraph.
Low template analysis
The figures were released just days before the publication of a Home Office review into the use of “low template” DNA analysis in forensic investigations. Expected on Friday, the Caddy review will look at the reliability of the cutting edge technique, which amplifies microscopic samples of DNA to create a full profile.
The technique was developed by the government-owned Forensic Science Service and has been used in high-profile cases around the world, including the search for Madeleine McCann.
However, the method remains controversial and was strongly criticised by a judge in the Omagh bombing case in 2007. Then, the acquittal of the only man brought to trial for the bombing sparked fears that thousands of important verdicts could be based on an unreliable technique.
