Police "arresting people just to get their DNA"?

Sound unlikely? Well, it's one of the conclusions drawn by the independent Human Genetics
Commission as part of their report into the DNA Database entitled "Nothing to Hide, Nothing to Fear?".

The report suggests that, according to one former senior police officer, arrests are now made for every possible offence with one goal of this being to record as many people's DNA as possible.

The report is a very critical one and suggests that Parliament should decide as to the role of the database, and particularly on the issue of keeping innocent people's DNA.

The Times illustrates the potential absurdity of this by highlighting the case of Tesfaye Smith (below) who had a DNA sample taken after a friend's father accused him of stealing Pokemon cards when Tesfaye was 12 years old.

For AS level students, a comment about the alleged overuse of the power to arrest for all offences introduced when PACE was amended by SOCPA 2005 would be a nice way to show ther examiner you have your finger on the pulse!