Police move to end postcode lottery on DNA retention

Senior officers want to standardise the procedure to have sensitive records deleted in "exceptional cases" in forces across England and Wales.

They will write to every police chief to highlight existing legislation in a bid to create a level playing field after research revealed police practices differ widely.

The move comes after the coalition Government pledged to shake up the collection and retention of DNA, along the lines of police in Scotland.

West Midlands chief constable Chris Sims, the national lead on forensics, said he will contact senior colleagues "within weeks" to urge them to consider appropriate cases.

Speaking at the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) annual conference in Manchester yesterday, he said: "The old legislation was loosely drawn and chief constables are interpreting it on their own terms.

"What I will be doing is, in support of legislation we believe is coming, we will be using the letter to try and generate a level playing field in which decision making operates.

Under the current law, chief constables have discretion to remove people from the DNA database when they were illegally arrested or mistakenly held. But campaign groups found forces did not consistently apply the law.