British Judge Wants Everyone in DNA Database

Everyone in the UK—and anyone who dares to visit—should be in Britain's national DNA database, a top British judge declared in a BBC interview today, causing an uproar among rights activists. Lord Justice Stephen Sedley called the country's current DNA database—the largest in the world—"indefensible," saying either everyone should be in it or no one.

"We have a situation where if you happen to have been in the hands of the police, then your DNA is on permanent record. If you haven't, it isn't," he told the BBC, adding that racial profiling is common. The British police are permitted to file the DNA of anyone charged with a crime; about 5.2% of the population is on file, the Guardian reports (More Lord Chief Justice Sedley stories.)