Commentary on Sections Schedule 2: Articles 63B to 63R of the Police and Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order 1989, as inserted
This Schedule inserts seventeen new Articles after Article 63A of PACENI to replace the existing framework governing the retention and destruction of fingerprints, DNA samples and profiles and other samples (referred to generally as “biometric material”) taken from a person under the powers in Part VI of PACENI or in cases where such material is provided voluntarily.
In relation to the retention framework, the following definitions are relevant.
A ‘recordable offence’ is one punishable by imprisonment or otherwise listed in regulation 2 of the Northern Ireland Criminal Records (Recordable Offences) Regulations 1989(1).
A ‘qualifying offence’ is an offence listed in Article 53A of PACENI (to be inserted by section 13 of the Crime and Security Act 2010). In general, the list broadly covers serious violent, sexual or terrorist offences. The concept is used to distinguish between serious and less serious offences for the purposes of the retention regime.
An ‘excluded offence’ is defined in Article 63D(14) as a recordable offence which—
	is not a qualifying offence;
	is the only recordable offence of which the person has been convicted;
	was committed when under the age of 18 years; and
	did not incur a custodial sentence of 5 years or more.
The new provisions are as follows.