Data on the number of males whose profiles have been added to the National DNA Database (NDNAD) by English and Welsh police forces, as at 16 July 2008, broken down by sex and the age groups requested, is shown in table 1. Equivalent data for females is given in table 2. Age is defined as the person’s age at the time DNA was taken from them, not their current age. This data could only be further broken down to show which profiles were added in each of the last five years at disproportionate cost.
The number of profiles is not the same as the number of individuals. This is because a number of subject profiles on the NDNAD are replicates, that is, a profile for a person has been loaded to the NDNAD on more than one occasion. This may arise for a number of reasons, such as a person giving a different name on different occasions they are arrested, or because of upgrading of profiles. It is estimated that 13.3 per cent. of the subject profiles held on the entire NDNAD are replicates.
Ethnic appearance is based on the judgment of the police officer taking the sample as to which of six broad ethnic appearance categories the person is considered to belong to. ‘Unknown’ means that no ethnic appearance information was recorded by the officer taking the sample.
Ethnic appearance Age range Number of subject profiles Number of individuals using 13.3 per cent. estimated replication rate Unknown Under 15 11,340 9,832 15 to 24 71,251 61,775 25 to 34 50,416 43,711 35 to 44 36,863 31,960 45 to 54 21,654 18,774 55 to 64 10,347 8,971 65 and over 4,186 3,629 Unknown age on load 810 702 Total unknown — 206,867 179,354 Black Under 15 20,531 17,800 15 to 24 116,685 101,166 25 to 34 79,665 69,070 35 to 44 56,347 48,853 45 to 54 16,045 13,911 55 to 64 3,631 3,148 65 and over 1,681 1,457 Unknown age on load 6,451 5,593 Total black — 301,036 260,998 Middle Eastern Under 15 804 697 15 to 24 12,278 10,645 25 to 34 12,003 10,407 35 to 44 5,069 4,395 45 to 54 1,829 1,586 55 to 64 434 376 65 and over 102 88 Unknown age on load 288 250 Total Middle Eastern — 32,807 28,444 Asian Under 15 10,905 9,455 15 to 24 99,171 85,981 25 to 34 66,185 57,382 35 to 44 31,105 26,968 . 45 to 54 14,508 12,578 55 to 64 4,000 3,468 65 and over 1,408 1,221 Unknown age on load 2,166 1,878 Total Asian — 229,448 198,931 White South European Under 15 3,751 3,252 15 to 24 27,937 24,221 25 to 34 24,250 21,025 35 to 44 12,462 10,805 45 to 54 3,972 3,444 55 to 64 998 865 65 and over 246 213 Unknown age on load 1,091 946 Total white South European — 74,707 64,771 Chinese, Japanese or SE Asian Under 15 533 462 15 to 24 7,641 6,625 25 to 34 7,078 6,137 35 to 44 4,381 3,798 45 to 54 1,741 1,509 55 to 64 393 341 65 and over 100 87 Unknown age on load 113 98 Total Chinese, Japanese or SE Asian — 21,980 19,057 White North European Under 15 227,880 197,572 15 to 24 1,195,063 1,036,120 25 to 34 664,089 575,765 35 to 44 479,342 415,590 . 45 to 54 234,760 203,537 55 to 64 100,249 86,916 65 and over 32,960 28,576 Unknown age on load 53,243 46,162 Total white North European — 2,987,586 2,590,237 Total male — 3,854,431 3,341,792
Ethnic appearance Age range Number of subject profiles Number of individuals using 13.3 per cent. estimated replication rate Unknown Under 14 5,333 4,624 15 to 24 22,839 19,801 25 to 34 13,389 11,608 35 to 44 10,491 9,096 45 to 54 4,971 4,310 55 to 64 1,706 1,479 Over 65 519 450 Unknown age on load 53 46 Total unknown — 59,301 51,414 Black Under 14 7,976 6,915 15 to 24 31,087 26,952 25 to 34 18,897 16,384 35 to 44 11,904 10,321 45 to 54 3,063 2,656 55 to 64 492 427 Over 65 133 115 Unknown age on load 294 255 Total black — 73,846 64,024 Middle Eastern Under 14 144 125 15 to 24 960 832 25 to 34 844 732 35 to 44 602 522 45 to 54 288 250 55 to 64 84 73 Over 65 29 25 Unknown age on load 7 6 Total Middle Eastern — 2,958 2,565 Asian Under 14 2,166 1,878 15 to 24 13,579 11,773 25 to 34 8,751 7,587 35 to 44 4,519 3,918 45 to 54 1,973 1,711 55 to 64 588 510 Over 65 128 111 Unknown age on load 66 57 Total Asian — 31,770 27,545 White South European Under 14 1,815 1,574 15 to 24 6,741 5,844 25 to 34 4,241, 3,677 35 to 44 2,336 2,025 45 to 54 808 701 55 to 64 195 169 Over 65 46 40 Unknown age on load 76 66 Total white South European — 16,258 14,096 Chinese, Japanese or SE Asian Under 14 267 231 15 to 24 2,927 2,538 25 to 34 2,609 2,262 35 to 44 1,587 1,376 45 to 54 678 588 55 to 64 165 143 Over 65 31 27 Unknown age on load 14 12 Total Chinese, Japanese or SE Asian — 8,278 7,177 White North European Under 14 99,852 86,572 15 to 24 321,176 278,460, 25 to 34 166,925 144,724 35 to 44 134,767 116,843 45 to 54 58,131 50,400 55 to 64 19,347 16,774 Over 65 4,976 4,314 Unknown age on load 2,807 2,434 Total white North European — 807,981 700,520 Total female — 1,000,392 867,340
Updated figures for the projected growth in the number of individuals on the National DNA Database are not yet available.
Work on revising the figures is in progress. It will also take account of the judgment in the S and Marper case before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) on the proportionality of retaining biometric data for those charged but not convicted of an offence. The ECtHR judgment is expected later this year. Revised projections should be available in early 2009.
Information held on the National DNA Database (NDNAD) is available on the basis of the police force which added the DNA profile, not the residence of the person sampled. Information is, therefore, not available on the number of residents of Leeds, West constituency or Leeds metropolitan district who have had a DNA profile added to the NDNAD, but is available on the number of profiles loaded by West Yorkshire police. The people from whom these profiles were taken may not be resident in the area where they were sampled.
The NDNAD holds records on the ethnic appearance of persons who have DNA taken, based on the judgment of the police officer completing the record about which of six broad ethnic categories the person belongs to. These categories are white—north European; white—south European; middle eastern; Asian; black; and Chinese, Japanese or other south east Asian. There is no separate category for eastern Europeans. If the police officer does not make an entry for ethnic appearance, this is recorded as 'unknown'.
It is not, therefore, possible to provide the information requested. However, it is possible to provide information on the number of profiles added to the NDNAD by West Yorkshire police, and by all English and Welsh police forces, broken down by age and the ethnic appearance categories used. The age shown is the person's current age, not the age they were when the DNA sample was taken. This is shown in the following table.
The number of profiles held on the NDNAD is not the same as the number of individuals. As it is possible for a profile to be loaded onto the NDNAD on more than one occasion, some profiles held on the NDNAD are replicates. This can occur, for example, if the person provided different names, or different versions of their name, on separate arrests, or because profiles are upgraded.
At present, the national replication rate is 13.3 per cent., that is, the number of people whose details are loaded is 13.3 per cent. fewer than the number of profiles. However, this rate may vary between police forces, so figures for the number of individuals whose profiles have been loaded are not given for specific forces.
Ethnic appearance English and Welsh forces Per cent. in each ethnic appearance group West Yorkshire Per cent. in each ethnic appearance group English and Welsh forces Per cent. in each ethnic appearance group West Yorkshire Per cent. in each ethnic appearance group Unknown 18,323 5.3 406 2.2 299,141 6.0 5,087 2.3 Asian 14,507 4.2 1,876 9.9 268,896 5.4 24,591 10.9 Black 25,897 7.5 1,108 5.9 383,859 7.7 11,529 5.1 Chinese, Japanese or SE Asian 921 0.3 39 0.2 31,392 0.6 971 0.4 Middle Eastern 1,306 0.4 28 0.1 36,947 0.7 1,293 0.6 White-North European 279,031 81.0 15,264 80.9 3,870,526 77.7 179,358 79.8 White-South European 4,341 1.3 155 0.8 93,098 1.9 2,003 0.9 Total , profiles 344,326 — 18,876 — 4,983,859 — 224,832 — Total individuals 298,531 — — — 4,321,006 — — —
(2) what proportion of the population in (a) Leeds West constituency and (b) Leeds Metropolitan District has a profile on the national DNA database.
Information held on the National DNA Database (NDNAD) is available on the basis of the police force which added the DNA profile, not the residence of the person sampled. Information is, therefore, not available on the number of residents of Leeds, West constituency or Leeds metropolitan district, or the proportion of the population of those areas, who have had a DNA profile added to the NDNAD. Information is, however, available on the number of profiles loaded by the Yorkshire and Humberside police forces, as shown in the following table.
The people from whom these profiles were taken may not be resident in the area where they were sampled.
The number of profiles held on the NDNAD is not the same as the number of individuals. As it is possible for a profile to be loaded onto the NDNAD on more than one occasion, some profiles held on the NDNAD are replicates. This can occur, for example, if the person provided different names, or different versions of their name, on separate arrests, or because profiles are upgraded.
At present, the national replication rate is 13.3 per cent., that is, the number of people whose details are loaded is 13.3 per cent. fewer than the number of profiles. However, this rate may vary between police forces, so figures for the number of individuals whose profiles have been loaded are not given for specific police forces.
The total number of subject profiles held on the NDNAD for all police forces at 30 June 2008 was 5,193,986. Allowing for replication, this equates to approximately 4,503,186 individuals. The corresponding figures for English and Welsh police forces are 4,872,376 profiles and approximately 4,224,350 individuals.
Force Number of subject profiles Humberside 84,014 North Yorkshire 57,799 South Yorkshire 121,007 West Yorkshire 220,649
(2) how many social profiles were held on the National DNA Database in each financial year for which records are available.
The National DNA Database (NDNAD) is a continually changing database, so it is not possible to give the total number of profiles held on it at the end of each year retrospectively. However, the number of profiles added to it by English and Welsh police forces in each year since its inception is available. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the right hon. Member for Haltemprice and Howden (David Davis) on 2 June 2008, Official Report, column 733W.
As it is possible for a person's profile to be loaded onto the NDNAD on more than one occasion, some profiles held on the NDNAD are replicates. This can occur, for example, if the person provided different names, or different versions of their name, on separate arrests, or because profiles are upgraded.
Therefore, the number of individuals on the NDNAD is the number of subject profiles reduced by the replication rate. At present, the replication rate is 13.3 per cent., so the 541,920 subject profiles added to the NDNAD in 2007-08 equates to an estimated 469,845 individuals. However, the replication rate has varied over time, so it is not possible to provide a figure for the number of individuals added to the NDNAD for all years since 1995.
The number of requests received from all other countries to check profiles from unsolved serious crimes, or for the identification of an unknown deceased person believed to be a United Kingdom national, carried out by the National DNA Database (NDNAD) Custodian in each year since 2004-05, is shown in the table.
Number of searches 2004-05 149 2005-06 249 2006-07 498 2007-08 727
Before 2004, requests were rare, so no data was collated. The figures do not include the country of origin of the request, so it is not possible to tell which were from EU member states and which from other countries.
The figures do not include requests which were received but not approved and processed.
Most requests for the exchange of DNA information between the United Kingdom and other countries are routed through the United Kingdom National Central Bureau for Interpol (UK NCB) based at the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA). Other channels may include bilateral direct liaison between law enforcement authorities and formal mutual legal assistance channels. Exchanges of DNA information via these channels will almost always be a response to the needs of a specific criminal investigation.
Requests from international law enforcement agencies for a search of the NDNAD are only processed where it is clear that the request is in the interest of prevention and detection of crime, national security or the data subject. They are also subject to a risk assessment, taking into account the justification for and proportionality of disclosure of the information in line with human rights. If cleared for processing, a one-off speculative search of NDNAD is made by the Custodian and information fed back to UK NCB.
(2) what assessment she has made of the accuracy of the Interpol Standard Set of Loci (ISSOL) in comparing DNA profiles; and what assessment she has made of the differences between ISSOL and the standard in use in the UK;
(3) what assessment her Department has made of the accuracy of the six loci DNA comparison standard for sharing of DNA data.
The greater the number of different areas of DNA (loci) examined by a DNA profiling system, the higher the level of accuracy.
When the United Kingdom National DNA Database (NDNAD) was set up in 1995, the SGM system was used, which looked at six loci plus amelogenin (the area showing the person’s gender). In 1999, SGM was replaced by SGM Plus, which looks at 10 loci plus the gender area. The probability of an adventitious (chance) match between full SGM DNA profiles of unrelated individuals is of the order of one in 50 million. The quoted probability of a match between full SGM Plus DNA profiles of unrelated individuals is one in one billion (i.e. one in a thousand million). The NDNAD Custodian carefully monitors replicate DNA profiles loaded to the NDNAD, and a key reason for doing this is to identify potential adventitious matches between SGM Plus DNA profiles derived from unrelated individuals. To date, no such adventitious match has been found. This indicates the SGM Plus match probability to be significantly lower than the figure quoted—it is probably better than one in one trillion (that is, one in a million million).
It was decided when SGM Plus was introduced that it was not value for money to reanalyse all the samples taken between 1995 and 1999 to upgrade them from SGM to SGM Plus. However, if a match occurs involving an SGM profile, or a partial crime scene profile, the original samples are routinely reanalysed using SGM Plus to provide the best possible match.
The Interpol Standard Set of Loci include seven loci plus amelogenin. Six of the seven loci are the same as in the SGM system. In order to carry out an Interpol search, six out of these seven loci plus amelogenin should be present. The Interpol Standard Set of Loci is therefore equivalent to SGM, with a discriminating power of approximately one in 50 million for full profiles from unrelated individuals.
If a DNA profile submitted by an overseas police force matches a profile on the NDNAD, the information supplied to that force is limited to notification that a match has occurred. The match is only followed up by the requesting member state using existing mutual legal assistance arrangements where additional DNA profiling and scientific expertise are used to exclude the possibility of an adventitious match prior to any criminal proceedings.