The Children's Commissioner in Northern Ireland is to report the PSNI to the United Nations, following the revelation that the police had taken DNA records from over 3,000 young people.
Commissioner Patricia Lewsley says in some cases families were distressed that DNA was taken, despite the fact that a child was not charged or convicted.
Last year, the PSNI was forced to remove DNA swabs and fingerprints of an 11-year-old Derry girl from its database following protests from the child’s family.
A PSNI spokeswoman said DNA databases were a valuable tool in the fight against crime, and considerable safeguards were in place to govern the use of the information.
