Familial searches of the National DNA Database (NDNAD) are only carried out in cases of serious violent crime. They are undertaken on a case by case basis and only after authorisation from the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) officer for the police force requesting the service. They are used to identify a suspect who does not have a DNA profile on the NDNAD but who may have a close relative who does have a profile on the NDNAD.
Data provided by the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) indicate that, since 2003, 33 individual suspects have been identified subsequent to a familial search of the NDNAD which suggested a possible relative with a subject profile on the NDNAD. Of these 33 suspects, five were deceased. The remaining 28 suspects were prosecuted, of whom 27 were convicted.