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back to article Half of black Britain on track for DNA database

Half of all black British males are destined to become records on the police National DNA Database by 2010, according to an analysis of government figures by the Liberal Democrats. If you count only men of an arrestable age, 68 per cent of them will have been nabbed and dabbed by the police by 2010. Just 14.4 per cent of white …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Government response

    The New Labour answer to Campbell's concerns is going to be obvious.

    Tweedledum lookalike Tony McNulty will pop up and say that yes, it *IS* wrong that blacks are being disproportionate entered on to the database and that these concerns will be addressed - by forcibly enrolling EVERYONE on to the database.

    Which, McNulty will plumply smile, will be so much better for everyone - no more racial discrimination and the police can enjoy all the publicity of clearing up old cases.

    'Oh why hasn't he been sacked yet?' McNulty won't mention the risk to justice posed by bad samples, cross-contamination in the lab, bad techniques and samples of completely innocent people's DNA taken from crime scenes. McNulty and his master in the Home Office won't pause to think of the inconvenience and distress caused as innocent people are forced to prove their innocence against the 'certainty' offered by DNA 'evidence'.

    It'll be another step to the Home Office dream of a country-wide Panopticon with them as the masters sitting in the middle.

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  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Hey, Johnny, What are you rebelling against?

    Hey, Johnny, What are you rebelling against?

    What've you got?

    Well, ASBOs, automatic penalties, secondary liability, CCTVs everywhere, monitored constantly, vague incitement laws, road pricing that's really government tracking, hidden taxes on everything, DNA tracking of our children & black people, posters warning all fun things are bad, ....stop me when you've chosen one,... overpriced Levis from twisted copyright laws, on the spot fines issued by busy bodies, worst healthcare in Europe, weak beer, lousy public transport, lowest speed limits, highest priced petrol, random searches by nosy busybodies, worst censorship in Europe, no pot, passive smoking bans....

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  3. David Pollard

    One database for the rich and one for the poor?

    At a conference on DNA a while back at the DANA centre I was intrigued to note that DNA profiles of members of the police forces are held on an entirely separate database. Apparently, so it was said, this is in order to reduce the number of inadvertent matches that arise not infrequently from accidental contamination of the crime scene.

    It would be interesting to know, in the proposals to extend the national database to include all UK subjects, whether this practice of maintaining separate databases for different groups of individuals will continue; and whether, for example, members of government and civil servants or the armed forces will have separate databases in similar manner.

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  4. alain williams Silver badge

    It will be compulsory come the next Census

    The way that this snooping government is going we will all need to supply a DNA sample with the next Census.

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  5. Chris Haynes

    Refuse participation in any scheme

    Innocent until proven guilty is another of our rights that Labour have eroded over the past ten years. That's a great legacy for you to leave, Mr. B.Liar.

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  6. teacake

    Re: It will be compulsory come the next Census

    "The way that this snooping government is going we will all need to supply a DNA sample with the next Census."

    You already gave the sample when you licked the gum strip on the envelope to seal it.

    [/paranoid mode]

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  7. Guy

    Can we have real figures

    This is just a PR exercise, the figures have no relevance, until you know how many of these DNA samples are being held of black people who are innocent ? Otherwise your between a rock and a hard place that Paul Condon found himself in when being accused of being racist by saying in the met area there were more black people arrested than white (can't find the exact figures or whether it was done by percentage ) but didnt give out the figures for people being successfully charged and prosecuted

    (gets out pritt stick to seal census envelope)

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