In early 2008, the Portuguese government launched a DNA register to stock the profiles of thieves, murderers and sex offenders sentenced to more than three years in prison. But to date, the register contains no records, writes Diário de Notícias. The National Institute of Legal Medicine (NILM), which manages the database, received only 18 requests to input profiles, while the government, which based its plans for the register on the average number of sentences per year, had pledged that 6,000 profiles would be entered by the end of 2009. The results are simply "not up to scratch," insists the head of the police detectives' laboratory, who wants "the registration procedure to be simplified," because the law which governs the operation of the database "is one of the most restrictive in Europe." As it stands, DNA data for an offender can only be entered with the explicit authorization of the judge who passes sentence. Both the judges' union and the police want registration to be automatic, however the government and the NILM, who cite concerns about "data security" and "public trust," are opposed to routine registration.
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