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On 30 July 2008, the Human Genetics Commission (HGC) published a report produced by an independent citizens' inquiry (A citizens’ inquiry into the forensic use of DNA and the National DNA Database) which calls for the National DNA Database to be placed under the control of an independent statutory authority at one remove from the government and the police.
The report also highlights the need for a vigorous nationwide information campaign to explain why DNA samples are taken, how they are used and why they are retained.
Most members of the inquiry panel felt that it would be neither practical nor desirable to have the whole population registered on the database. Other majority recommendations stressed the importance of removing the names of those who have been acquitted of involvement in a particular crime from the database and not recording the ethnicity of those providing DNA samples.
A citizens’ inquiry into the forensic use of DNA and the National DNA Database