Otago Daily Times

Overhaul sought of law on DNA

- HARRY LOCK

WELLINGTON: The Law Commission is calling for a radical overhaul of how DNA is obtained, used and retained by police.

A new report from the commission found the current way DNA is used in criminal investigat­ions ignores human rights values, tikanga Maori and the Treaty of Waitangi.

The review looked into the Criminal Investigat­ions (Bodily Samples) Act 1995, and found there was no clear and robust process which guided police on how to collect, use and store DNA.

Lead commission­er on the review, Donna Buckingham, said: ‘‘In 1995 Aotearoa New Zealand became only the second country to establish a legal regime for the use of DNA in criminal investigat­ions.

‘‘But time and technology have moved on and what a tiny amount of DNA can reveal about a person has grown hugely in 25 years.’’

The commission has made 193 recommenda­tions in total which would provide clear guidelines to the police on how to obtain, use and retain DNA.

It would also protect individual­s’ human rights and privacy, and address the disproport­ionate impact the current system has on Maori.

The Law Commission found six fundamenta­l problems with the current legislatio­n. —

■ There is no clear and robust guide for the police to draw on when collecting, using and retaining DNA.

■ It does not recognise tikanga Maori and the Treaty of Waitangi, which is out of step with other legislatio­n which has a significan­t impact on Maori rights and interests.

■ It does not properly accommodat­e human rights values. ■ It is not comprehens­ive.

■ It is confusing and complex, due to a history of amendments, which makes the legislatio­n difficult to implement.

■ There is no statutory provision for independen­t oversight, which is inconsiste­nt with internatio­nal best practice.

All the Law Commission’s recommenda­tions are filtered into seven core recommenda­tions which will be given to the Government.

They are. —

■ Improving protection­s for adults from whom police seek to obtain DNA by consent or on arrest.

■ Requiring a court order to obtain DNA from suspects who are children or young people or who lack the ability to provide consent.

■ Regulating the use of DNA where the current law is either silent or fragmented.

■ Establishi­ng a single DNA databank to hold all DNA profiles obtained by police with clear rules on how these DNA profiles can be used.

■ Restrictin­g the retention of offenders’ DNA profiles and aligning any retention of youth offender profiles more closely with the rehabilita­tive focus of the youth justice regime.

■ Creating an independen­t mechanism for the assessment of new DNA analysis techniques and whether these should be approved for use.

■ Improving oversight by increasing the role of the judiciary, establishi­ng a new DNA oversight committee (with mandatory Maori representa­tion), and providing for external auditing by the Independen­t Police Conduct Authority.

‘‘The Law Commission is recommendi­ng a new legal framework to clarify how police can use DNA in criminal investigat­ions,’’ Ms Buckingham said.

❛ . . . time and technology have moved on and what a tiny amount of DNA can reveal about a person has grown hugely in 25 years

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