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You are in Human Genetics → Privacy and Discrimination → The UK Police National DNA Database → Facts and Figures

Facts and Figures

Facts and Figures on the police National DNA Database (NDNAD).

Numbers of people with records on the NDNAD

• At the end of March 2009, the National DNA Database contained computerised DNA profiles and linked DNA samples from approximately 4.8 million individuals (more than 7% of the UK population). (Hansard 5 May 2009: Col WA106). This is a much higher proportion of the population than any other EU or G8 country. See table - Home Office (2006) DNA Expansion Programme 2000-2005: Reporting achievement. Forensic Science and Pathology Unit.
• About a million people - an estimated 925,385 - had their DNA profiles added to the Database when they were under-18. About 300,000 of these people are still children (under-18)(Hansard 27 Oct 2008: Col 677W). About half a million people had their DNA profiles added to the NDNAD when they were under-16 years old. (Hansard 20 Nov 2008: Col 723W).
• About 30% of the black population (aged over 10) have their DNA profile on the database. (The latest breakdown by ethnic appearance is on, Hansard 10 Nov 2008 : Col 800W, and can be compared with census population data). The proportion is much higher for young black men. In 2007, Baroness Scotland confirmed to the Home Affairs Committee that three-quarters of the young black male population would soon be on the DNA database.
• About 300 children (aged 10-17) a day are being added to the DNA Database. Over the last 5 years, DNA records from about 549,428 children aged 10-17, including 44,557 black children and 438,951 white children have been added (Hansard 1 Jun 2009: Col 155W, assuming 13.5% of records are replicates). This is about 23% of black children and 9% of white children in this age group.
• It has been estimated that under current laws the database will expand to include 25% of the adult male population, along with 7% of adult women - Williams R, Johnson P (2005) Inclusiveness, effectiveness and intrusiveness: issues in the developing uses of DNA profiling in support of criminal investigations. J Law Med ethics, 333 545-558.

Failure to solve more crimes

• DNA matches between crime scenes and individuals on the Database include many matches with victims and innocent passers-by and false matches, so equating matches with criminals is misleading. See briefing.
• Only some matches (called DNA detections) involve sufficient evidence to charge someone for a crime, and not all DNA detections lead to prosecutions or convictions. DNA detections increased significantly between 1998/99 and 2002/03, but the number of crime scene DNA profiles loaded onto the Database each year also more than tripled during this time (from 19,233 in 1998/99 to 65,649 in 2002/03), as DNA began to be collected routinely from thefts and burglaries. The Home Office recognises that the increased number of crime scene profiles added to the Database drove the increase in DNA detections. Only about half the DNA detections can be attributed to the existence of the database (for an explanation see this briefing). The majority of these are volume crimes, such as thefts and burglaries.
• Since 2002/03, the number of individuals with DNA profiles on the Database has doubled from 2 million to 4.5 million, but there has been no corresponding increase in the number of crimes detected. The percentage of recorded crimes which involve a DNA detection has remained roughly constant at 0.36%: see table.

Unconvicted people

• About a million unconvicted people have their DNA profiles retained on the National DNA Database. At 24th April 2009, the total number of people with DNA profiles on the NDNAD but no police record of conviction, caution, formal warning or reprimand was estimated as 986,185. (Hansard 02 Jun 2009 : Column 360W). This is lower than the 1 million figure given in 2006 (Hansard 9 Oct 2006 : Column 493W), because children given formal warnings or reprimands were not previously regarded as convicted. The system of final warnings was specifically devised to avoid children entering the criminal justice system unnecessarily.
• Based on Home Office arrest figures, GeneWatch has estimated that about 100,000 unconvicted under-18 year olds have their DNA profiles retained on the National DNA Database. In September 2008, the Home Office estimated that only 39,095 under-18s had not been convicted, cautioned, received a final warning/reprimand and had no charge pending against them. However, this treats all children with charges pending or with final warnings or reprimands as if they were convicted. It is also calculated by assuming that 13.3% of the NDNAD records are replicates, but that none of the Police National Computer (PNC) records are. This is unlikely to be true for under-18s because only older records (mostly adults) were kept on the NDNAD while PNC records were removed.
• Since 2004 there have been 1,643 requests from foreign countries from information from the NDNAD. Before 2004, such requests were rare (Hansard 29 Sept 2008: Col 2345W ).

Percentage of total population on a police DNA database in 2005

Country	Percentage
Austria	1.04
Belgium	0.04
Croatia	0.23
Czech Republic	0.09
Denmark	0.07
Estonia	0.49
Finland	0.63
France	0.20
Germany	0.44
Hungary	0.28
Netherlands	0.09
Norway	0.15
Slovenia	0.29
Spain	0.01
Sweden	0.07
Switzerland	0.94
United Kingdom	5.23
USA	0.99
Canada	0.23

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