Let Politics Talk

The result of this case will have a direct effect on hundreds of thousands of people, including many children.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7266130.stm
Basically if you get arrested, even if innocent, your DNA data is stored on the database with that of criminals. The government refuses to take it off.

This case is a crucial one as it will put the brakes on to the erosion of civil liberties.

Everyone's DNA should be kept if you ask me. Unless you've got something to hide, why would you care?

Dom wrote: Everyone's DNA should be kept if you ask me. Unless you've got something to hide, why would you care?

Ok, let's just say in the future all your financial dealings are done using DNA technologies. Say your credit information is coded for security purposes with your DNA profile. This DNA Data base is hacked or the information turns up missing. Then what? Can you imagine the repercussions if the most secure form of identity was stolen? You could easily go from being as rich as Bill Gates to a homeless shelter with no way to securely use your assets.

Dom, that saying is fine. However it is alarming submissive.
Why should I care if the government has my finger prints or my skin cells from my cheek? True, when it is asked like that I don't. I do mind the government keeping an accurate fact file on me. Everything I do, work, live, move is filmed, recorded, analysed and so on. I am independent me and no-one has any right to be so intrusive. This is exactly how all barbaric dictatorships ended up. Everyone was watched and studied. I have no criminal conviction, or charges or even one I deserve (!!) to my name for that matter, but I still don't want the government having a massive database on me. I don't believe in the honesty of the government and I am well aware of their incompetance in handling data.

Dom wrote: Everyone's DNA should be kept if you ask me. Unless you've got something to hide, why would you care?

That's all very well in an ideal world (though I guess in an ideal world there would be no need for it!), but the world's far from ideal. Even if you can trust today's politicians and governments (tell me no!), are you sure you are ready to put that kinda confidence in the powers that be in a generation's time? OK, maybe we won't see it, but children and grandchildren could suffer as a result of what we allow now.

No, No, NO!

No data is 100% safe. I don't want the government having my DNA on file. What will they be doing next? Inserting tracking chips in babies???? Bah..

Data can go missing easily enough these days and I'm sure the government must know that.

Well, when the military has it's favorite acronyms of "SNAFU" and "FUBAR" and several even more colorful. It definitely shows the level on confidence the military has in itself and government......lmao

Hmmm I can't find out what happened to this case.

I can understand why people might not want all of their personal and private information stored by the government, but there's a huge difference between the government having a record of your DNA, and the government knowing everything there is to know about you. What with illegal immigration, and crime too, being what it is, I think that it's a good idea to have an accurate record of who is in (or more importantly, who shouldn't be in) the country at any given time.

If records of our DNA were kept, it would be far easier to spot illegal immigrants who, for example, might try to purchase goods/services or claim some kind of benefit that they're not entitled to; or it could help solve crimes a lot faster, as any DNA evidence left at a crime scene could easily be traced to a specific person.

Sure, the government might have the opportunity to go too far with the whole "big brother" thing, but there's also the opportunity there to solve a lot of problems that might otherwise take an age to resolve, if at all. In the same way that our lenient punishment system has done nothing to deter criminals, and so caused higher and higher crime rates, I think the lesson should be learned that it's better to have too much than too little, and if invading our privacy once or twice for the general benefit of the country is likely to happen, then so be it.

Personally, I'd rather the government were able to find out how many TV's I've bought over the last few years, and at the same time be able track down a murder suspect that much quicker, than allowing said suspect to wander free for weeks or even months longer for the sake of my privacy.

I'm sure, like you, that there are some things that I might not want anyone to be able to find out about me. But I think that allowing the government to be able to do so if it was necessary is a small price to pay for the potential advantages that having that kind of power would bring. I guess it comes down to trust, and if you don't trust the people that you put in power, then what else can anyone do?

Dom wrote: Everyone's DNA should be kept if you ask me. Unless you've got something to hide, why would you care?

Definitely yes.. What is the problem in government storing the DNA? It will help to cut down violent crime. Only bad people have to worry about this.