S, R (on the application of) v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire & Anor

The Vice President of the Court of Appeal Criminal Division (LORD JUSTICE ROSE) and MR JUSTICE LEVESON ____________________

Richard Gordon QC & Stephen Cragg (instructed by Messrs Howells) for the Claimants David Bean QC & David N Jones (instructed by Ms Susan Ross, South Yorkshire Police Service) for the Defendant Rabinder Singh & James Strachan (instructed by Treasury Solicitor) for the Interested Party Hearing date : 14 March 2002 ____________________

HTML VERSION OF JUDGMENT : APPROVED BY THE COURT FOR HANDING DOWN (SUBJECT TO EDITORIAL CORRECTIONS) ____________________

New technologies include live scan (the capturing of fingerprint impressions electronically which can then be downloaded in digital form for processing) and live-id which can be undertaken either at a police station or at a remote site or on patrol thus confirming the identity of a suspect or arrestee immediately.

It is important to appreciate that the DNA database is not a list of suspects; rather, it will show only a �hit� of the DNA profile of an individual which matches that from DNA recovered at a crime scene. Given that DNA can be detected from very small samples (such as might be found on the saliva on a cigarette end) the power of the technique both to eliminate those who might have been suspected or incriminate others is enormous.