Thousands of babies had DNA stored on NHS database which police could access

“by kobus, amsterdam
We denied the heelprik at the hospital, they all knew it and hated us for it.
21 hours after birth i picked up my child to see her bleed from her heel..
I complained and wanted the sample back. When a real doctor showed up,
she explained that the sample wasn't submitted, but they lost it somehow..
I find the treatment in the hospital crude, uncaring and mechanical,
especially against innocent newborns. Later they told me
It's a cruel world, get used to it..”

“My wife was asked to sign the form when she was trying to breast feed and was told it was just to test for vitamin K deficiency, nothing about DNA.
I came across this article whilst reading another article about 10 ways we are being tracked, traced and databased on nwoobserver.wordpress.com . Storing DNA on its own may not seam too bad to some, but when you look at all the other information that is being gathered about you then it starts to get a bit too much. The Police store your movement through number plate recognition, mobile phone companies not only store information about calls you have made but also the location of your phone at any given time even when switched off. The list goes on. Ever heard of 'Public sound surveillance' now being launched in Europe to monitor conversations in the street.
What if they find out that if you have a certain gene there is a 90% chance you are going to commit crime, would you still want your DNA on a database.
This has got to stop before it is to late. We are loosing our freedoms and privacy in the name of security. Do you want to live in a surveillance society.
In the last ten years we have had 1 terrorist attack. We used to have a lot more in the past when the IRA were bombing the mainland but life went on and we were not scared.
Crime is no worse today than in the past. It just gets reported more and the media hype it up out of all proportion.

In some European countries you are guilty until proven innocent. Is that what you want.”

“How about if an extremist party managed to find themselves in power?Imagine how handy a DNA database would be if they decided to do a spot of ethnic cleansing.”

“"The only people who have anything to fear from having their DNA on file are the criminals."

Not true. DNA evidence is not as reliable as the lay person believes.

Transference and contamination, and issues over testing methods are just some of the problems.

In any event, it's worth bearing in mind that identification by DNA is expressed in terms of probability and not in terms of certainty.

DNA evidence is a useful tool but to catalogue an entire nation is overkill in the extreme - the potential for harm outweighs the potential good by far in my view.”

“Is DNA science as infallible as climate change science?”

“I'm sorry, Jane, but your argument does not hold up. If your DNA proves that you are resposible for an offence then there is no argument. Of course, other evidence has to be considered as well, but the discovery of DNA profiling is the greatest tool to crime detection since fingerprints were discovered in the 19th century.

My only argument is that the storage of DNA has to be done fairly. On that point I have already explained my position.”

“Kulgan says: " The only people who have anything to fear from having their DNA on file are the criminals.". This is not true Kulgan. In law, DNA is circumstantial evidence. Although it may provide extremely strong circumstantial evidence, it is nevertheless, circumstantial. Many miscarriages of justice have occurred due to the misinterpretation of circumstantial evidence or the lack of other evidence that casts serious doubt on the circumstantial evidence put forward. I'm sure you can use your imagination and come up with some scenarios where your DNA might be in the wrong place at the wrong time and be used against you !”

“I often disagree with Avtar's comments (in fact I'd go as far as to say that I think some of them are reactionary rubbish). But this time I'm with him all the way.
The classic line "the only people who need to fear their DNA being stored are criminals" (to quote Kulgan) is fine in a largely free and democratic society. What happens if at some stage in the future we had a dictator similar in mind and actions to say Mugabe, or Kim Jong-Il, or the Burmese Junta, or even (closer to home and still within many people's living memory) Hitler, Mussolini, or Franco?
Wake up guys - today (in this free and democratic society that I mentioned) I can be tracked by my mobile phone, by the sat nav in my car, by the credit and debit cards that I use for every day purposes, my image can be seen on almost countless CCTV systems wherever I go, my car can be randomly observed by the police ANPR system, and, if I were arrested I could have my DNA stored for perpetuity even if subsequently proved innocent beyond any doubt.
Scared? You should be.”

“I say lets put a stop to the baby crimewave there is too much of it about. You cant leave a teddybear anywhere without it being picked up by a baby. They got to realise that somethings are not theirs otherwise the police will put them behind bars.”

“"Parents who agree to the test are automatically agreeing for the sample to go on the database"
No they are not!
If the consent form does not make it absolutely clear that the sample will be used for other purposes than the medical tests them they are being missled, there should be a separate consent specific to the DNA database which parents can opt out of.”