ABSTRACT
In 2001, the Home Office announced its “modernizing” criminal justice agenda with an emphasis on expanding the scientific and technological tools associated with the policing function. The Home Office has sought to upgrade electronic registries and databases available to police and capabilities for cataloguing fingerprints, vehicles, DNA, and other criminal identification information. This is consistent with the rationale that tackling the problem of the “persistent offender” would bring about a significant reduction in national crime statistics (Norris, 2006).
