National Security Minister Tables DNA Bill
By: , April 30, 2015The Key Point:
Photo: File
Minister of National Security, the Hon. Peter Bunting. (FILE)The Facts
- The Bill also provides for the regulation of the taking of bodily samples from persons and crime scenes, to treat with the retention or destruction of samples and DNA profiles.
- He added that the Bill is the third major piece of path-breaking legislation that has been put forward by the Ministry in the last three years.
The Full Story
Minister of National Security, Hon. Peter Bunting, tabled the Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) Evidence Act, 2015, in the House of Representatives on April 29.
“This legislation will provide for the keeping, maintaining, and operating of a consolidated forensic DNA databank, to be known as the National DNA Register, for the purposes of forensic investigation and human identification,” Mr. Bunting said.
The Bill also provides for the regulation of the taking of bodily samples from persons and crime scenes, to treat with the retention or destruction of samples and DNA profiles.
“This Bill has had an elephantine gestation across three administrations and I look forward to the support of the House to quickly pass this legislation,” Mr. Bunting said, as he made his contribution to the 2015/16 Sectoral Debate in the House.
He added that the Bill is the third major piece of path-breaking legislation that has been put forward by the Ministry in the last three years.
The Minister also cited the Law Reform (Fraudulent Transactions) (Special Provisions) Act 2013, popularly known as the Anti-Lottery Scam and the Criminal Justice (Suppression of Criminal Organisations) 2014 Act, otherwise called the Anti-Gang Legislation.