National DNA database
A National DNA database is a national database of DNA samples against which law enforcement agencies can match suspect DNA. The first national database was set up by the United Kingdom in April 1995. The second one was set up in New Zealand [1]. France set up the FNAEG in 1998. In the USA, the FBI has organized the CODIS database. Originally intended for sex offenders, they have since been extended to include almost any criminal offender.
In England and Wales, anyone arrested on suspicion of a recordable offence must submit a DNA sample to the database, which is then kept on permanent record. In Scotland, the law is different and most people are removed from the database if they are acquitted. In Sweden, only criminals who have spent more than two years in prison are recorded. In Norway and Germany, court orders are required, and are only available, respectively, for serious offenders and for those convicted of certain offences and likely to reoffend. All 50 states in the USA keep profiles of violent offenders, and a few keep profiles of suspects. Portugal has plans to introduce a DNA database of its entire population [2]
DNA databases and medicine
The database became the common meeting ground for computer scientists and molecular biologists. This is because the goal of certain projects like the genome project was to construct maps, which were built from information contributed to databases. They enabled an entirely new way of information analysis. The intrusion of computers into molecular biology shifted power into the hands of those with mathematical aptitudes and the computer savvy. However, the information gained from mapping and sequencing genetic information would very likely have ethical implications for individuals, families and society in general. There is a concern about genetic information being used in ways that affect chances of employment or chance of getting life insurance. Furthermore, secondary applications of personal, genetic information mean that citizens do not know what their genetic information will be used for.