All Your DNA are Belong to The State
One of the largest DNA databases in the world is in the UK where almost 7% of citizens have DNA samples on file. Commander Dave Johnston, Britain’s “most senior murder investigator,” says that DNA should be taken from both criminals and people arrested but not charged, and also from babies, immigrants, anyone renewing their passports, and the recent dead. That pretty much covers everyone, doesn’t it?
We have 300,000 unsolved cases where we have taken a profile at a crime scene but have not yet matched it.
As well as solving crime, it would really make someone think twice about committing crime if they knew their DNA was on a database.
There is also a compelling case for taking DNA from people when they die, so that we can cleanse the database.
What do you think? Take the survey below (and in the sidebar):
NB: In case you’re wondering what the heck my post title means, it’s a reference to All Your Base Are Belong to Us.
The Sun Online, December 11, 2006
Technorati Tags: uk, united kingdom, crime, criminals, britain, genetics, genes, dna, dna tests, dna database, law
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POSTED IN: Genetics: Legislation, Policies, Ethics, Law
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4 opinions for All Your DNA are Belong to The State
Robyn Tippins
Dec 11, 2006 at 11:47 pm
I’ll admit it does scare me, but if it’s voluntary I’d sign on board.
Mark
Dec 12, 2006 at 3:26 am
“make someone think twice about committing crime if they knew their DNA was on a database.”
Well - wow - we’ve sunk to new lows to avoid returning to real family and life values eh? Gimme a break.
Honey
Dec 12, 2006 at 2:34 pm
I do agree with the fact that maybe this would be a way of keeping people from committing crimes since obviously a simple DNA test from the suspected person could be compared to DNA from the crime scene. However I’m not really sure what else my DNA would be used for. Who knows, maybe I’ll be involved in the next genetic experiment (e.g cloning)without even knowing it. Also the most personal and unique thing that every human has is his/her DNA , do we really want to leave that in the hands of the state? I am not really paranoid, I am just saying that they could find out very personal things about us such as for example a disease that we’ve been trying to keep a secret. I don’t know about you guys but I am keeping my DNA for myself.
Hsien Hsien Lei, PhD
Dec 12, 2006 at 2:40 pm
Robyn: Maybe if they gave me a C note. :D
Mark: That’s right, mister. You better think twice next time!!
Honey: You are so right! In the future, there will undoubtedly be uses for our DNA that we can’t even imagine yet.
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