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17 Sep 2007 : Column 2336W—continued
Police: Personal Records
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officer profiles were removed from the database on retirement or resignation in each year since 2000. [155341]
Jacqui Smith [holding answer 12 September 2007]: There is no Home Office managed national database on officers that have retired or resigned.
Most forces are party to the Emergency Services Collaborative Framework Agreement for the provision of Temporary Staffing Services which is operated on behalf of the emergency services by two employment agencies (Adecco and Reed).
Proof of Identity: Genetics
Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 23 July 2007, Official Report, column 694W, on genetics, what the average length of time taken by her Department's agencies to identify an individual through analysis of DNA was in each of the last five years. [155420]
Meg Hillier:
The process for matching DNA from individuals with that from crime scenes is as follows. When someone is arrested for a recordable offence a sample is taken, usually by means of a cheek swab, which is sent to a laboratory. The sample is analysed to
produce a numerical code which represents a number of areas of the individual's DNA. This code is sent to the National DNA Database. If it passes quality assurance checks it is loaded onto the database, together with demographic information such as the person's name and date of birth. Crime scene investigation leads to discovery of traces of biological material such as semen, blood or saliva, which will in some cases allow a numerical code representing DNA from an individual who has left that trace at the crime scene to be produced. A match may occur either when a profile from a crime scene is loaded onto the database and is found to match a profile from an individual, or vice versa. Matching may also occur between profiles from different crime scenes, indicating that the same person was present at more than one crime scene, even if that person cannot yet be identified. The database operates continuously and matches are automatically notified to police forces electronically or by fax as soon as they are made. The question is understood to refer to the length of time a crime scene profile or a profile from an individual remains on the database before a match occurs. Data on this are not recorded.
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