Call to outlaw DNA theft

Stealing other people’s DNA should be made a criminal offence, say the British government’s advisers on genetic data. Such a law would prevent journalists, insurers or employers covertly obtaining and analysing someone’s DNA from an everyday object such as a coffee mug. “This sort of activity is a gross intrusion into another’s privacy,” says Helena Kennedy, chair of the Human Genetics Commission. But while the HGC says new laws are also needed to stop the police “raiding” genetic research databases, it is less clear on whether the police should be allowed to retain DNA samples from suspects who turn out to be innocent.…