English police want a children's DNA database

[grandpa]

Quote by: Milton Bradley I assume it is already on that list, but I'm not crossing any lines, so I have nothing to worry about.

Or so you might think. In any case, people such as myself are supposedly amongst "the bad guys." In this day and age, who knows what could happen. One can get arrested for the stupidest of reasons already.

Grandpa h.

[Fangrim]

Quote by: Compugasm Just hypothetically, what if Volconvo becomes a "site of interest" to the government? Are you willing to risk posting here?

I'd probably watch what I say. Or I might feel threatened enough to not post here anymore.

So?

Simply because I, as an individual, would prefer that the government not watch ME, I still think the general idea of the government having information is fine.
Said differently, that I'm a selfish bastard has no bearing on whether I'm fine with the government spying on other selfish bastards.

EDIT: Anyway, if the government really wanted to try hard enough, they'd know I'm a fascist who supports their power base anyway, so there's really no reason for them to interfere with me. But you libertarians watch out.

[grandpa]

Quote by: Fangrim I'd probably watch what I say. Or I might feel threatened enough to not post here anymore.

Probably.

Grandpa h.

[Arawn-ap-Hywel]

Liberty is a very dangerous word to speak openly in public places in the presence of certain authoritarian uniformed individuals.

The UK has become the first facist arm of US testing of citizen control. Bewary

[grandpa]

Quote by: Arawn-ap-Hywel The UK has become the first facist arm of US testing of citizen control.

And they're getting fancier equipment to work with, too.

Grandpa h.

[Compugasm]

Quote by: Fangrim Simply because I, as an individual, would prefer that the government not watch ME, I still think the general idea of the government having information is fine.

The information they have isn't like your address, or your birthdate. This DNA database gives government control over people, at the genetic level. The authority to decide who is and is not permitted to exist. Throw in some psuedo-scientific disorder, with a reduced burden of proof thanks to profiling, and now you will be systematically rounded up. Imprisoning individuals charged with no crime. Seriously, it's just one step away from being destroyed for being defective.

[Fangrim]

Quote by: Compugasm The information they have isn't like your address, or your birthdate. This DNA database gives government control over people, at the genetic level. The authority to decide who is and is not permitted to exist. Throw in some psuedo-scientific disorder, with a reduced burden of proof thanks to profiling, and now you will be systematically rounded up. Imprisoning individuals charged with no crime. Seriously, it's just one step away from being destroyed for being defective.

There is no fundamental difference between this information and the government knowing the color of your hair other than that hair color is not generally considered to be detrimental to society, while some genetic disorders and other information gleaned from DNA can be.

What warrants do you have the the government "rounding up" unwanted individuals without some sort of consent by the people? At the point that you're creating a policy to do this, you're electing the officials who are enforcing it and funding it.

Unless it's "hush-hush," in which case, who cares? If we can't do anything about it, we shouldn't worry.

[jrcbailey]

I was thinking about setting up a debate to say that; 'there should be a DNA database including all residents of the UK', but then came across this one. As a resident of the UK I've read many of the news articles about the Governments proposals to introduce such a scheme, so have a few comments to make.

I've only skimmed the the rest of the forum, so I apologise if I ask questions or make any points that have already been addressed.

Firstly, the idea of introducing a database only for children aged 5 upwards that show criminal potential, is a terrible idea. As someone before effectively said, the childs' apparent early criminalization will probably result in a self fulfilling prophecy.

If we are going to introduce any DNA database, it is best to include the entire population in the scheme - after all, even the most unlikely of suspects is capable of committing a crime.

I believe that the pro's would far outweigh the con's. Of course the oppositions' main argument is the loss of their civil liberties, but the fact is that the Government has access to more of our personal information than we think. A good example is the one given in the "MI5 seeks powers to trawl records in new terror hunt" article on the previous page. As stated in the article, the security service can currently demand info of an individuals movements around London from their Oyster Card records.

Of course there are many other examples of how your location and actions can be tracked at present - credit cards, phone calls, Internet activity to name a few.

So why should we be worried about a DNA database, that would simply pin point our locations (at an unspecified moment in time, I might add), in order to determine whether or not we can be eliminated from the Polices investigations?

I personally (as a UK resident) have no problem with it, along with the majority (80% approx.) of the people I have discussed the subject with. The primary reason I don't have a problem with it is because I have nothing to hide, and if I have nothing to hide, I have nothing to fear.

The second (most obvious, and probably most important) reason I am in favour of it, are the protective benefits of the scheme. Of course it would assist in solving future, existing and previously unsolved crimes, but it would also act as an effective deterrent.