[Z]

Do you agree with the concept of having a national DNA register? Everyone in the country has to give a sample of their DNA so that it can be held on a database that police can use to cross reference DNA taken from crime scenes in order to catch criminals quickly. Should the database only hold DNA samples for a certain length of time so that there isn't just a database of everyone in the country's DNA which could be abused at any time? Should it only contain DNA of previous offenders?

It came to prominence after the murder of Sally Anne Bowman; police eventually caught her killer 9 months after her murder after he was involved in a bar fight and it matched to the DNA found at the scene of her dead body. There have been debates about whether or not police should be allowed to hold onto any DNA - the police argued that if there had been a national database they would have caught him immediately, as there wasn't one, it took them the best part of a year to catch him and over two years before he was prosecuted and sentenced to jail. What do you think? Would you donate your DNA willingly or would you object to it? Why or why not?

[Livia]

I'm all for it. Nothing to hide = nothing to fear.

[arista]

Originally Posted by Livia

I'm all for it. Nothing to hide = nothing to fear.

But what if a Corrupt Technical Person
working at the Police Lab mixes your DNA
that proves you as a Killer
Even though you are not the killer.



NCIS

[Jessica.]

I wouldn't have a problem with it.

[Josy]

No I definitely would not donate my DNA willingly for lots of reasons tbh..

One being what Arista already posted, I know it may seem a bit far fetched but there is corruption everywhere.

What if they started using the DNA for other things without telling you like checking up on who's smoking weed, taking other drugs etc.

What if they used it for cloning.

What if a hacker broke through the database firewall and got a hold of all the details and sold them on or used them to frame innocent people we all know it wouldn't be the first time the government systems were compromised.

That's just a few reasons off the top of my head so nah no way would I give my DNA.

[Nedusa]

My first thoughts are no problem I have nothing to hide but after reading Josy's post above I think there are reasons why I would like my DNA to remain off any database/databank.

[arista]

Yes Future Hacking crime as well, Josy.

Security is the problem.

[Tom4784]

No, it could and would be abused.

[Z]

It's a very interesting debate. I think most people's first reactions would be "sure, why not" and then when points like the ones Josy raised are mentioned it suddenly becomes more complex - there are a lot of ways people could misuse your DNA sample, but then it's a bit much to just say no to such an idea because of all the potential problems with one. Personally I'm for it, I think it would do a lot to help solve crimes - even so that police can rule you out rather than nail a crime to you, they can narrow it down to people who aren't on the register etc. I would definitely register. I think David Cameron's government said they were making changes to the register but nothing's been done so it's been in limbo for the last decade.

[Livia]

I think sometimes questions like this get muddled up with fiction. It's not CSI... it's real life. If there was any corruption it would be picked up by one of the other agencies or your lawyer. Retesting and rechecking would be common if cases got to court, I reckon. I can't understand people being against a register on the off-chance that there might be an abuse at some point, by someone... If someone I loved was murdered I want to be assured that the killer's DNA is already on record. I think it could be a better deterrent than the death penalty.

[Z]

Originally Posted by Livia

I think sometimes questions like this get muddled up with fiction. It's not CSI... it's real life. If there was any corruption it would be picked up by one of the other agencies or your lawyer. Retesting and rechecking would be common if cases got to court, I reckon. I can't understand people being against a register on the off-chance that there might be an abuse at some point, by someone... If someone I loved was murdered I want to be assured that the killer's DNA is already on record. I think it could be a better deterrent than the death penalty.

I think so too... not that people tend to go out and commit crimes on the basis that "I probably won't get caught because they don't have my DNA" but when you switch it around I think it would cause a lot of violent offenders to reconsider; they wouldn't be able to get away with it if everyone's DNA was on the register... and if you weren't on the register, the police could rule out everyone who is on it so you would still be a prime suspect and the police would be onto you faster than they otherwise would be... I think it's a brilliant idea personally.

[Josy]

Originally Posted by Livia

I think sometimes questions like this get muddled up with fiction. It's not CSI... it's real life. If there was any corruption it would be picked up by one of the other agencies or your lawyer. Retesting and rechecking would be common if cases got to court, I reckon. I can't understand people being against a register on the off-chance that there might be an abuse at some point, by someone... If someone I loved was murdered I want to be assured that the killer's DNA is already on record. I think it could be a better deterrent than the death penalty.

I don't think it gets muddled up with fiction at all, yes Arista mentioned CSI but that doesn't mean that opinion should be rubbished...

Other than that the fact that government systems like Army databases, and Nasa spring to mind can and have already been hacked into, that alone is enough to put me off anyway.

You cant understand that people would be against it due to off chances? I think there's plenty of good reasons why people would be against it, I can't understand why people would so willingly give up yet another part of their privacy so easily without knowing exactly who is going to end up with access to it and when theres no proof that it would definitely help catch criminals/killers, it's been proven that DNA changes throughout a persons lifetime.

[Livia]

Originally Posted by Josy

I don't think it gets muddled up with fiction at all, yes Arista mentioned CSI but that doesn't mean that opinion should be rubbished...

Other than that the fact that government systems like Army databases, and Nasa spring to mind can and have already been hacked into, that alone is enough to put me off anyway.

You cant understand that people would be against it due to off chances? I think there's plenty of good reasons why people would be against it, I can't understand why people would so willingly give up yet another part of their privacy so easily without knowing exactly who is going to end up with access to it and when theres no proof that it would definitely help catch criminals/killers, it's been proven that DNA changes throughout a persons lifetime.

I'm not rubbishing anyone's opinion. Your opinion is your opinion and I respect that, even if I don't agree with it at all.

There's massive proof that DNA does help catch criminals and killers. It can put someone at the scene of the crime and it can prove that there has been some contact with the victim.

It has been proven that DNA changes, for instance, a virus can change it, hair gets grey and skin wrinkles changing DNA slightly. But the changes that do happen are miniscule and your building block DNA does not change.

Anyhoo, while I do understand some of the mistrust, I still think it's a good idea and that the pros outweigh the cons.

[joeysteele]

I myself feel that I would not likely have a problem within principle supporting this move but I would want to know a great deal more about it.

I for instance,(and have come across this once too which is once too many),have worries that those committing crimes could even leave others dna in some form at a crime while cleverly ensuring none of their dna is left there.

It would need to be a strictly and 100% perfect system for me to say 'yes it is a good idea', despite the merits of it.

[Vicky.]

I disagree with the idea because of the chances of it being misused.

However this wouldt affect me as I *think* the police already have my dna on record They took a swab from my cheek when I got arrested anyway, I assume thats what that was