Calls to put the DNA of every UK resident on a national database are impractical, the government has said.
A senior police officer has argued for a universal register, after
two killers were convicted on DNA evidence. Sally Anne Bowman's killer,
Mark Dixie, and Suffolk serial murderer Steve Wright were both captured
because their DNA was taken after unrelated offences.
But the Home Office said a mandatory database "would raise significant practical and ethical issues".
The DNA database, which covers England and Wales, currently contains
around 4.5m profiles - routinely taken from criminal suspects after
most arrests.
It is already the largest of its kind in the world but is controversial.
Since 2004, the data of everyone arrested for a recordable
offence - all but the most minor offences - has remained on the system
regardless of their age, the seriousness of their alleged offence, and
whether or not they were prosecuted.
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