News story: UK and EU law enforcement boost co-operation on DNA databases

Law enforcement agencies in the UK and across the EU will be able to search for matching samples on each other’s DNA databases, boosting their capacity to tackle cross-border crime and protect citizens.

The UK’s implementation of Prüm will facilitate better co-operation between police forces and law enforcement agencies. Unknown DNA samples taken from crime scenes can now be compared automatically with profiles held by other EU member states.

Improving the speed and efficiency of data exchanges between EU member states will increase cross-border police cooperation, particularly in combating terrorism, crime and illegal migration.

This also has the potential to help UK and EU police forces to identify suspects in cold cases.

Minister for Policing and the Fire Service Nick Hurd said:

Connecting to the Prüm DNA framework will help our police forces to quickly identify foreign criminals and bring them to justice.

We are committed to working closely with our EU partners on security co-operation, and to providing law enforcement agencies with the tools they need to protect our citizens.

The UK’s DNA database currently holds profiles of more than 5 million people and 500,000 samples from crime scenes.

Prior to connecting to the Prüm DNA framework, data exchange was done by the UK’s National Crime Agency using manual exchange mechanisms.

The UK government is committed to a long-term security partnership with the EU.