Power Simon: Criminal Investigations (Bodily Samples) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Power Simon: Criminal Investigations (Bodily Samples) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:652;Page:1117] 
Hon SIMON POWER (Minister of Justice) 
: 
 I move  
That the Criminal Investigations (Bodily Samples) Amendment Bill be now read a first time. 
 At the appropriate time I intend to move that the Criminal Investigations (Bodily Samples) Amendment Bill be referred to the Justice and Electoral Committee for consideration. 
It may not be all that apparent from its title but this bill is about expanding the collection and use of DNA samples to assist the police in solving more crime. In November 2007 National announced that it would bolster the tool kit of the police by requiring DNA samples to be taken from all those arrested for offences that are punishable by imprisonment. The first reading of this bill today fulfils the Government’s commitment to introduce such legislation in its first 100 days. 
Currently DNA samples can be taken only with a suspect’s consent or by compulsion where people are suspected or convicted of an offence punishable by more than 7 years imprisonment or otherwise specified as a “relevant offence”. It precludes DNA samples taken from those suspected of a wide range of significant offences that do not meet the threshold. Where consent is not forthcoming before conviction the current law requires police officers to go through the process of applying to the High Court for leave to take a DNA sample. This bill amends the Criminal Investigations (Bodily Samples) Act 1995 to allow police to collect DNA from a person whom they intend to charge with an offence and to match that person’s DNA profile against DNA samples from other unsolved crime scenes. 
The implementation of this legislation will follow a two-stage approach. The first stage will provide police with the ability to obtain and test the DNA profile of every person charged with a relevant offence. The current list of relevant offences is made up of serious offences where DNA trace evidence is often involved or crimes that demonstrate a propensity for more serious offending. The bill expands this list to include other relevant offences such as aggravated assault peeping committing an indecent act in a public place unlawful possession of a firearm cruelty to a child and male assaults on females. The second stage will enable this new process to apply to all individuals charged with an imprisonable offence by 2011. I advise the House that our first preference was to proceed to full implementation as soon as possible. However the staged approach outlined in the bill will allow the Institute of Environmental Science and Research to adjust to the increased workload resulting from the new regime and for police to develop guidelines and train their staff. 
The staged approach also recognises that there have been significant changes to New Zealand’s fiscal situation since the original policy was announced and it provides an opportunity to gather more robust information about full implementation. Finally the staged approach recognises that the expansion and the use of DNA sampling and matching raises issues that are worthy of public debate. The Government’s position is that a DNA sample simply constitutes the modern fingerprint. Forensic crime scene investigation has progressed to the point that small amounts of trace evidence can now produce a usable DNA profile. The current DNA databank of 90000 profiles was the second to be established in the world and New Zealand scientists have been at the forefront of advances in extracting DNA profiles from crime scene trace evidence. The question to this House is whether we are making the best use of this technology and these skills to help the police to solve more crime. The current list of relevant offences for which DNA samples can be taken represents only 13.6 percent of those individuals convicted of criminal offending. There are still over 8000 unidentified DNA profiles from crime scenes in the databank that relate to unsolved crimes including sexual assaults aggravated robberies homicides arson and drug offences. 
The measures proposed in this bill will substantially increase the size of the DNA profile databank which in turn will help to match offenders to unsolved crime scenes. It is estimated that the first stage of implementation will result in an additional 218 convictions from 2010 to 2011 while full implementation will result in approximately 445 convictions. Having said that there will be some who oppose the expansion of the DNA scheme because they see it as an encroachment on human rights and no doubt members will not have failed to notice the report from the Attorney-General pursuant to section 7 of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 which accompanies this bill. 
I do not propose to rehearse the opposing arguments here as I genuinely encourage the select committee to engage the public in this debate. However I would like to address some common misconceptions about the way in which DNA profiles are used. The profile currently used by the Institute of Environmental Science and Research for identification contains only a very small portion of the individual’s total DNA profile and can be deciphered by only a small group of specialist scientists. Even then the most that can be deduced is the sex of an individual. As such the risks of inappropriate disclosure of an individual’s confidential genetic information are very low. Unlike the recently criticised United Kingdom DNA scheme samples in New Zealand—not the profiles but the samples—will be destroyed as soon as practicable and DNA profiles will not be retained unless the person is convicted. So if charges are dropped or innocence is found the DNA profiles will be destroyed. Furthermore the bill contains very specific provisions regarding the use storage and retention of DNA profiles. Any misuse of the DNA sample or profile would therefore be subject to the full extent of relevant law and civil rights protections. Finally the police will develop operational guidelines to avoid any arbitrary or unreasonable application of the proposed power. 
I take this opportunity to acknowledge the concerns that have been raised by the Maori Party that provisions in this bill may be used in the Maori Party’s view to unfairly target Maori. I am advised that the police will be required to report on the use of DNA sampling on an annual basis to ensure that the use of this discretion is transparent. 
This bill is a proactive approach to DNA rather than the current system of collection post-conviction for a relatively small group of offences but it provokes strong opinions. The priority of this Government in the justice portfolio is public safety and this bill contributes to that goal by giving the police the tools to resolve more crime and of course as the recent television portrayal of the David Dougherty case shows DNA sampling can provide resolution by exonerating the innocent. I commend this bill to the House.