Police criticised over child DNA

DNA of 24,000 innocent children is stored in England and Wales

A "postcode lottery" exists over whether police keep innocent children's DNA on file, a Tory MP has claimed.

Police can retain DNA samples from 10 to 18-year-olds whether they have committed a crime or not.

But there are big differences across England and Wales - Durham police had 830 samples per 100,000 children compared with 52 on Merseyside.

MP Grant Shapps said ministers should admit they were building a national DNA database or erase the records.

See the figures for your local force

Consistency

The Tory MP for Welwyn Hatfield said guidelines were currently being interpreted in widely varying ways by different forces.

But the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) says the discrepancies are mainly down to forces adopting the technology at different times.

Acpo says there has been an increase in requests from people wanting their DNA removed from the database, but chief constables are instructed only to do this in exceptional cases.

It also stresses the importance of national consistency in applying the rules.

'Huge disparity'

Figures obtained by Mr Shapps show how many DNA samples have been stored in England and Wales from 10 to 18-year-olds who have never been convicted, charged or cautioned over a crime.

In Cumbria, the figure was 934 per 100,000 children, while in West Mercia it was just four per 100,000.

Mr Shapps said: "In effect we have a postcode lottery when it comes to the storage of DNA from children who have never been charged or cautioned. There is a huge disparity between different forces.

"Tony Blair's own Durham Constabulary is 16 times more likely to retain innocent children's DNA, with 830 per 100,000, than Merseyside police with 52 per 100,000.

"If you are an under-18 living in Hertfordshire you're eight times more likely to have your DNA data stored than next door in Bedfordshire, even though Bedfordshire has higher crime rates."

'Mistaken identity'

Mr Shapps said children should have the option of being removed from the database.

"We do not yet have a compulsory national DNA database in this country, and until Parliament approves such a move we should not build one by stealth," he said.

Previously-obtained figures showed a total of 24,000 children not convicted of a crime were on the police database.

In some cases children may simply have witnessed a crime, or even been a victim and given DNA samples to eliminate them from a crime scene, Mr Shapps said.

Other cases were down to "mistaken identity", he claimed.

His statistics proved that guidelines were currently being interpreted in widely varying ways by different police forces, he said.

'Public benefit'

He plans next week to meet the chief constable of Lincolnshire, Tony Lake, who drew up recent guidelines on DNA samples, to discuss how the rules could be tightened.

Last week, Home Office Minister Andy Burnham announced DNA profiles would continue to be stored, saying the samples were helping to catch criminals.

Mr Burnham said there was a "clear public benefit" to keeping the samples and the existing policy was justified.

"Inclusion on the database does not signify a criminal record and there is no personal cost or material disadvantage to the individual simply by being on it," he argued.