New powers to take foreigners' DNA

Tuesday, March 09, 2010

The government has agreed to amend a key bill so that police can record the fingerprints and DNA of any foreigner in the UK who has been convicted of a crime abroad.

Crime minister David Hanson said he had tabled the amendment to the Crime and Security Bill after debate with the Conservative shadow home affairs minister James Brokenshire.

In a letter to Brokenshire, Hanson said he initially thought any criminals trying to enter the UK would be stopped at the border by the UK Borders Agency (UKBA). But he said he acknowledged Brokenshire's point that there may be some foreign nationals temporarily in the UK "to whom these powers may be usefully applied".

As an example Hanson said there may be some individuals whose criminal history does not come to light until they are already in the UK.

Hanson also welcomed Brokenshire's recommendation for the National DNA Database Strategy Board to be more accountable to parliament. In light of this the government has amended the bill so that the board's governance rules and annual report are laid before both houses of parliament.

The minister has also agreed with calls from the senior Labour MP Keith Vaz for guidance to be issued to police on the early destruction of DNA. The new amendment will require the strategy board to issue guidance to all chief police officers in relation to the early deletion of DNA samples and profiles.

"Chief constables already have the power to remove such profiles under the Exceptional Case Procedure, but these amendments would for the first time require that chief constables must follow the statutory guidance underpinning the new Early Deletion Procedure," he said.

"We are also renaming the procedure to underline the point that deletion decisions will no longer rely on the presence of exceptional circumstances."

He added: "Failure to follow the new guidance could be challenged through the courts."