Figures uncovered by Jo Shaw, Lib Dem PPC for Holborn and St Pancras, show that DNA samples are being taken from children in Camden at the rate of nearly one a day.

From the BBC:

A freedom of information (FOI) request by the Liberal Democrats showed DNA has been taken from an average of 360 young people in Camden every year since 2000.

The samples, from children as young as 10, have been kept regardless of whether charges were ever brought…

Ms Shaw, Lib Dem parliamentary campaigner for Holborn & St Pancras, made the FOI request to the government’s DNA database holder, the National Policing Improvement Agency.

The figures showed that, so far in 2009, mouth swabs have been taken from 139 “subject profiles” aged between 10 and 17 and stored alongside data about each child’s ethnic appearance, sex and age.

In total, there are 3,243 “profiles” on the database collected from children in Camden, according to the agency.

The European Court of Human Rights said in December that keeping the DNA profiles and fingerprints of unconvicted suspects was unlawful.

Jo called it “a costly way of stigmatising young people”, while pointing out that such measures are unlikely to reduce crime in Camden.