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UK: Cops hacked the Police National Computer to unlawfully retain suspects' biometric data

15 March 2016

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"Police employees have been hacking the Police National Computer to unlawfully retain suspects' biometric data, it has emerged.

The manipulation of the national IT system has come in response to public demands to restrict the length of pre-charge bail, the Biometrics Commissioner has suggested.

In his 122-page annual report (PDF), the commissioner noted that it had become “not uncommon” for the police to release suspects in ongoing investigations without officially placing them on bail, as the forces “clearly feel under pressure” to meet the Home Office's guidance to bring charges within 28 days of an initial arrest."

See the article: Cops hacked the Police National Computer to unlawfully retain suspects' biometric data (The Register, link)

See also: Britain’s biometrics commissioner in DNA warning (Planet Biometrics, link): "A report by Britain’s biometrics commissioner has revealed that the fingerprints and DNA of at least 45 terror suspects had to be destroyed after police errors.

The report by Alastair MacGregor QC, the Commissioner for the Retention and Use of Biometric Material , also revealed that the police now have DNA profiles of 7,800 terrorism suspects.

MacGregor has found that the number of individuals whose DNA profiles and fingerprints are being logged on the little-known database as a result of counter-terrorism investigations is growing quickly, having risen from 6,500 identified individuals in October 2013 to 7,800 last year."

Full report: Annual Report 2015: Commissioner for the Retention and Use of Biometric Material, Alastair Macgregor QC, December 2015 (pdf)

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