THE DNA of a seven-year-old child has been put on the National DNA database by Merseyside Police, according to information released to the Daily Post under the Freedom of Information Act.
National organisations which campaign for civil liberties condemned the revelation as “shocking”, and accused the Government of “picking on kids who can’t fight back”. But Merseyside Police said the use of DNA had “revolutionised” policing and added that “samples are taken and stored on the database in line with legislation”.
The National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) provided the information – but refused to reveal the age of the youngest person from Cheshire whose DNA was added to the controversial database.
The NPIA said that, in respect of the information relating to Cheshire Constabulary, it “would undermine criminal proceedings”, and added: “In all the circumstances of the Cheshire case, the public interest in maintaining the exemptions outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.
“However, the public interest maintaining the exemption in the Merseyside case is much less strong and, on balance, falls in favour of disclosure.”
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