General Chat

I am for it!

David, Your point is a fair one but you would be denying the forces of law and order a most potent weapon in the fight against crime. Surely the more convictions we get, the greater will be the deterrent to criminals following their life-style.(especially in contact crimes, Assaults; rape and the like) best wishes Happy days

I wouldn't have thought so Harry - nothing else has proved much of a deterant has it?

...but it's not just about crime is it? What government (of any colour) would be able to guarantee that DNA taken now would NEVER be used for any other purpose? Think about the NHS - supposing it is gradually privatised, with a US style insurance system taking its place. Your DNA could show you may be a high cancer risk. It's only an increase in the possibility, but what health insurance company will take that chance? You would find yourself without health cover through no fault of your own. If you vote Labour - would you trust the Tories with it? If you are a Tory - would you trust Labour etc etc? Obviously genocide will continue to happen without it - but you could never deny your genes. You could never hide and you couldn't even leave the country to escape it. And there could never be insurrection either. There could never be true freedom to protest again. It's nothing to do with Bleeding Hearts - it's for the protection of basic liberties and once your basic liberty has gone, it has gone for EVERYBODY, FOREVER. I don't want my liberty to be compromised just because criminal detection and sentencing is inadequate. The answer isn't less freedom, but more resources and better sentences. Unfortunately Joe Public probably wouldn't be willing to pay the extra. Jelly

just had this discussion with hubby. we are in agreement but if its done at birth then it should put on the birth certificate that we have had our dna put on file. that way it would also prevent potential criminals committing a crime in the first place. killing two birds with one stone. taylor

Exactly Jelly head - couldn't agree more.

I agree, so do both teenage sons. If you haven't done anything wrong what is there to be afraid of. One question - would a clone have the same finger prints? Anne in North London.

'if you haven't done anything wrong what is there to be afraid of' How many people have died with those words on their lips? Killed by their own governments because they werent deemed genetically suitable . In 1933 the Nazi government got over 90% of the vote. How would you feel if the BNP got hold of your DNA?? How would you feel if your genes meant you qualified for compulsory deportation? Wake up! Jelly

Everyone should be DNA and be put on record

Yes - I'm all for it. Might stop a lot of crimes from ever being commited. Pen x

What if .....? Whether or not your DNA/Fingerprints are taken at birth, won't stop your 'what if ' arguements surely ? It's happened in the past without DNA/Fingerprinting ... so if it's going to happen, then it would do anyway ? or am I reading this wrong ? Elaine ;-) ps. Our medical files already have details as to family history etc, so they wouldn't need DNA to confirm what information is already available ? We already trust our details with many different organisations ... doctors, banks, etc etc.... so one more won't make an awful lot of difference surely ?

this is my dream.. for what it's worth! we should all be 'bar coded' at birth.. with dna i.d we can then check our 'serial numbers'... and hey presto.. WE FIND ALL OUR LOST RELLIES IN ONE AFTERNOON !!!!... work's o.k for our pet's.. :-) xk x

Jelly Just to tackle one of your points - If serious crimes could be quickly resolved by pinpointing DNA then that saves money. The Yorkshire Ripper case could have been resolved years earlier than it actually was, if DNA had been used, and incidentally, saved the lives of several women. Several recent high-profile murder cases have cost millions of pounds - as a Tax Payer, I do not grudge this money being spent, but how much more sensible if these could quickly have been resolved, leaving the money saved for tackling less serious crime. If the BNP were in a political position to get hold of my DNA and use it against me, then I sincerely hope I would already be dead - I would not wish to live in any Country which had elected such people as these to power. We have to trust 'them' every day with our most personal information. It doesnt always work, that trust, but I still think it would be for the greater good of the majority of the population. OC

While JH asnd David make valid points, I am in complete disagreement with them. Good luck to both. The money mentioned by Old Crone is perhaps a small point in a bigger argument. Very valid though. Whenever a criminals fingerprints were identified, you could be almost certain of a guilty plea. I am told DNA works the same way. No point in nearly every case of pleading not guilty - no expensive trials. Another small advantage of course is in identifying loss of memory cases and bodies, where we now have to resort to dental records if there are any. Happy days

I fully agree with both Jellyhead and David. Aside from governments misusing the information for their own ends, how would it prevent people from committing crimes? Surely criminals would find a way around the situation - masks and gloves are a simple 'off the cuff'' solution. The death penalty doesn't seem to be much f a deterrent in USA. It is treating everyone as a potential criminal - lumping the whole of society into the lowest common denominaton. If no-one objects because they don't have criminal tendencies, then why don't we have speed cameras on every corner, as I'm sure no-one speeds, and telephones should be automaically tapped - no-one is going to object to that are they? It would lead to a total control of society. They may as well put 'tracker chips' into everyone. maggie

its about time

I fullly agree with OC. What if what if what if. If you always lived by that philosophy then would you ever do anything. When you open a bank account, do you think, What if the bank manager decides to steal my details - no. It would be so much easier. If there was a crime and some DNA, and you were able to just run it through the system, you would get a match straight away, and not spend time and money trying to work out who did it. (as in the case of rape or murder)

yes,I think it should:-))

I'd be OK with speed camera's on every corner. If it would save one more life ... then fine.... and yes, I do occasionally speed, but if speed camera's were there I wouldn't. I can't see why any one would want or need to tap everyone's phone line ... although maybe they already do ... but I feel sorry for anyone who has to listen to most of the conversations :-) Lets be realistic .... no one wants to restrict society or takes people's privacy away from them, but IF DNA and/or Finger printing prevents crimes or helps solve crimes, helps with medical issues etc, then surely it can only be a good thing ? Would it also prevent Identity theft .... which seems to be a growing problem ? Elaine ;-)

DNA testing is already used for detecting genetic anomolies - but it's voluntary. Banks have certain details - and no, you don't know whether they will misuse your details. DNA and fingerprinting won't stop identity theft unless it is checked every time the card is used - and the machine (when they've invented it) checking it is working properly. I have noticed there are a lot of 'What ifs' FOR the argument. What if they found DNA at the scene of the crime? Many old crimes had not been solved because the perpetrators had the sense not to leave fingerprints. These crimes are being solved because DNA testing wasn't around at the time. Do you really think clever criminals are leaving DNA everywhere now, so they can be traced? Of course they're not, Hence taking everyone's DNA and fingerprints at birth will have little effect on the crime rate - as usual the not so clever criminals will be caught, and the clever ones will get away with it - but a big effect on the privacy of the innocent - you never know who could hack into the computer!!!! maggie