By Brendan Sweeney and Martin Vernal-Lassen
If a proposed new Danish government bill becomes law, even if a suspect has been fully acquitted of a crime, the police will still be able to keep the person's DNA profile and fingerprints for 10 years.
The proposal, which significantly cuts down the length of time the police may retain DNA samples, is a response to a 2008 decision by the European Court of Human Rights Court in Strasbourg against the UK.
The court ruled that it was unlawful to keep indefinitely the profiles of innocent people and that the UK was the only one of the 47 members of the Council of Europe to permit the "systematic and indefinite" retention of DNA samples and profiles from people who have been acquitted.
In Denmark the police are currently allowed to retain DNA until the person involved reaches the age of 80. The Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR) had previously warned that the current Danish practice breached basic human rights and was contrary to the protection of citizens’ right to privacy.
If the proposed bill which is currently before the Danish parliament is passed, the new law will come into force in August 2010.
However, Christoffer Badse, who is a Deputy Department Head and legal expert at DIHR, stated that the Institute can only offer the bill a cautious welcome.
“It's good, but it is debatable whether it is good enough. Denmark will still remain at the high end of the scale even when this bill is passed,” he said.
In a consultation paper, DIHR recommended that Denmark align itself with the significantly lower limits for retention of DNA samples that are the practice in other Nordic countries.
“In Finland for instance, the police only hold on to DNA samples for a year, and not ten years which the Danish Ministry for Justice is proposing,” concluded Christoffer Badse.
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