[Gllug] Data protection/police powers/DNA database: survey

[Alain Williams]

What do you think of the police collecting everyone's DNA in a big database ?

It won't be abused or will it ?
Will the police end up using it as proof of guilt without corobirating evidence ?
Been to the bank recently ? Did you take care to not shed a few hairs ?
If you did leave a hair, just hope that the bank is not robbed soon - as you will be a suspect
with proof that you were on the scene of the crime (you left your DNA there).

There are statutory limits as to what can be done with the data, but no guarantee that
a future government won't change that [[ think: anonymous sperm donors who now find that
they aren't]]. How much notice do you think that MI5/police really take of these
statutory limits - they just make sure that they aren't caught.

You have a twin: how close is his DNA to yours (answer 100%), what about you immediate
family ? There is an assumption that this leads to positive identification, in reality
it can only guarantee to eliminate people.

This is important.

Read the consultation paper and reply to the survey:
	http://www.nuffieldbioethics.org/go/ourwork/bioinformationuse/page_848.html

There is an overview here:
	http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/11/02/nuffield_dna_consultation/

-- 
Alain Williams
Parliament Hill Computers Ltd.
Linux Consultant - Mail systems, Web sites, Networking, Programmer, IT Lecturer.
+44 (0) 787 668 0256  http://www.phcomp.co.uk/

#include <std_disclaimer.h>
-------------- next part --------------
-- 
Gllug mailing list  -  Gllug at gllug.org.uk
http://lists.gllug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/gllug