THE STATE to move making it compulsory for all deportees to be finger-printed upon entry to this country and for their records to be kept, in addition to more reforms to DNA sample collection, according to legislation unveiled by Attorney General Anand Ramlogan in the House of Representatives yesterday.
Clause 9 of the legislation proses an insertion into the Police Service Act which reads: “50C. (1) At all ports of entry into Trinidad and Tobago, a police officer or an immigration officer under the Immigration Act shall take and record for the purpose of identification the fingerprint impression of- (a) a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago without the consent of the citizen, where the citizen has been deported from any place outside of Trinidad and Tobago.”
Compulsory fingerprinting will also take place in situations where there is evidence linking fingerprint impressions at crime scenes to potential persons related to inquiries.
In relation to DNA samples, the definition of such samples is to be clarified; and samples are to be kept far longer, as long as 20 years, because of the possibility of cold cases being solved.
“One ought to tread with extreme caution before you go to destroy it,” Ramlogan said. “The longer the period the State can retain these samples, the better we can tackle crime.”
http://www.newsday.co.tt/news/0,193243.html
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