Overview
The National DNA Database (NDNAD) holds DNA profiles and linked DNA samples of UK individuals. The bioinformation derived from each profile is used by the police to solve crimes.
The NDNAD is the largest database of its kind in the world and continues to grow by over 550,000 new records per year.
In 2011 the NDNAD:
- covered 5.5 million people – over 8% of the population
- included 41% of the black, 15% of the Asian and 9% of the white population*
- included > 1 million innocent people
- 80% of profiles from men
- 4.5% of profiles from under-18s
- 0.7% of profiles from volunteers
- 14% of duplicate records
- included nearly 0.4 million records from crime scenes
Addressing concerns about the database
As the NDNAD has grown, so has public concern about issues of privacy and human rights. Balancing individual rights and the fight against crime has not proved easy.
Steps taken to address the issues raised include:
- Quarterly publication of statistics
- The setting up in 2007 of the NDNAD Ethics Group
- More debate with the public, human rights and civil liberties groups
- A government-commissioned report by the Human Genetics Commission (HGC) on the use of bioinformation – published in 2009
- Easy to understand information on the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) website
