Striking the Balance

[Ian G Batten]

On Tue, 29 Oct 2002, Watkin Simon wrote:
> > Keeping it where those people are cleared is totally
> > unacceptable.
> 
> Bear with me here, and playing Devil's Advocate here, why not?, what's the
> harm?

I believe that the state should hold no more evidence on individuals
than is necessary for its current purposes.  My DNA is only of use if I
plan to commit a crime, and as I am 37 and have never had so much as a
parking ticket I don't feel it is likely.  I am actually not sure that I
would give a DNA sample in the case outlined, as I have no faith
whatsoever in the police's respect for privacy.  However, I suspect that
not doing so would immediately make me a suspect, which makes the ``ask
nicely'' Simon advocates more like ``ask nicely, then arrest them''.

ian