Commentary on Sections Retention, destruction and use of fingerprints and samples etc Section 20: Material subject to the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 (Scotland)
67.Section 11 of the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 makes provision for the taking of fingerprints and non-intimate samples from persons subject to a control order in Scotland. The provisions contained in section 11 are similar to those in sections 61(6BA) and 63(3D) of PACE (inserted by section 10 of the 2008 Act), which relate to controlled persons in England and Wales, and Articles 61(6BA) and 63(3C) of the Police and Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 (“PACE NI”), inserted by section 12 of the 2008 Act, which relate to controlled persons in Northern Ireland. These provisions are yet to be brought into force, pending their amendment in this Act to take account of the S & Marper judgment.
68.Section 20 of this Act amends section 11 of the 2008 Act and adds a new section 11A. These amendments make equivalent provision for the retention and use of fingerprints and non-intimate samples taken from controlled individuals in Scotland as section 14 does for England and Wales (amending PACE) and section 15 does for Northern Ireland (amending PACE NI).
69.The main area of difference between the provision for England, Wales and Northern Ireland and the provision for Scotland is that any samples that are retained in Scotland may be used only in the interests of national security or for the purposes of a terrorist investigation. This difference is necessary in order to avoid making provision in areas that are within devolved competence.