Commissioner welcomes FINDS Strategy Board Annual Report for 2022-23
The UK Forensic Information Databases Strategy Board is the UK strategic governance forum which oversees the management of the UK DNA Database (NDNAD) and the UK Fingerprint database (IDENT1) and associated international exchange mechanisms for law enforcement.
The Commissioner, who is a member of the UK Strategy Board has today welcomed the publication of the 2022-23 FINDS Annual Report. The report highlights how DNA and Fingerprints make a significant contribution to criminal justice and community safety in the UK. As most criminal offenders are male, the report also highlights that 80% of DNA profiles within the UK DNA Database relate to male subjects. In that context, the Commissioner particularly welcomes the development of a UK Y-chromosome (male specific) database as a means of assisting investigations into femicide and other crimes involving violence and sexual offending against women and girls.
The Commissioner said: ‘a woman is killed by a man every three days in the UK and domestic abuse makes up around 18% of all recorded crimes. In 2022-23 in Scotland there were 2,529 reported rapes. Violence by men against women is a national disgrace, and in that context biometric data such as DNA evidence can prove invaluable in bringing offenders to justice.