article: Biometrics Commissioner Alastair MacGregor said police were "risking public safety" by failing to apply for extensions to hold DNA profiles of suspects who have not been convicted. He also said some records which were still stored should have been removed. The Home Office said the system worked well "in the vast majority of cases". A new system limiting DNA record storage was introduced in October 2013. Previously, DNA profiles and fingerprints could be stored indefinitely, regardless of whether someone had been charged or convicted. The anomalies were revealed in the commissioner's second annual report since the new rules were introduced. The report also revealed that DNA profiles and fingerprints of 7,800 people were held on a separate police counter-terrorism database as of October last year. The database holds biometric records of those convicted in relation to terror investigations and others who have not been convicted but where retention is deemed necessary for national security purposes. It also allows for the extended retention of material taken from an individual who has not been convicted when a senior officer makes a national security determination (NSD). Of the 7,800 individuals, 4,350 - or around 55% - had never been convicted of a recordable offence. Source: Biometrics Commissioner's annual report, 2015, and Home Office and National DNA database annual report The commissioner's report suggested the new system had led to a series of problems which meant DNA profiles were not being stored when they should be, and that some records had been retained when they should have been deleted. Mr MacGregor said the DNA profiles of 450 innocent people were automatically deleted from the database before police could decide if they wanted to keep the information on national security grounds. He blamed "procedural errors and delays" - and said police would have applied to hold about 10% of the records. "Those errors and delays have led, or will lead, to the loss of a significant number of biometric records that probably could and should have been retained." A spokeswoman for the National Police Chief's Council said: "The fingerprint and DNA data of a small number of individuals who potentially pose a threat to national security have been deleted from biometric databases as the retention period expired before a national security determination could be submitted for approval. "The identity of these individuals is known and the risks they potentially pose are being managed in conjunction with partner agencies. "Comprehensive measures have been put in place to prevent the loss of further biometric data from individuals of concern before a NSD is applied for." By BBC home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw The previous system for storing DNA was eventually declared to be unlawful - but it had the advantage of being simple to execute. The scheme the coalition government replaced it with is proving to be the exact opposite: difficult to understand, unwieldy to operate and prone to error. Perhaps it's not surprising then that the Home Office has taken three months to publish this report which sets out the many failings. Solutions are hinted at, such as
summary: Hundreds of DNA and fingerprint records that could have been held for national security reasons in England and Wales have been deleted, a report reveals.