The DNA of innocent people arrested in England and Wales will be held for no longer than six years, ministers have announced.
The Home Office has said that police will remain able to keep DNA from those arrested for terrorism, even if found not guilty or freed.
It follows lasts year’s ruling from the European Court of Human Rights that it was unlawful to indefinitely retain the profiles of innocent people.
Under the proposals, profiles of juveniles aged 16 and 17 who have been arrested but not charged or convicted of serious offences will be removed after six years.
But those profiles of all juveniles convicted of all but the most serious recordable offences will be held for five years and indefinitely for any other convictions.
The measures, which will need to go before Parliament, also include plans to destroy all DNA samples used to create the DNA profile that has been added to the database.
And there are plans to give new powers to the police to allow samples to be taken from anyone convicted abroad, or convicted before the creation of the database in 1995.
Last year’s European Court ruling had found the database system in England and Wales breached basic rights as it allowed the police to retain DNA samples indefinitely of anyone arrested, even if they were later proven innocent nor charged.
Action had already been taken last year by the Home Office to delete the DNA profiles of children under the age of 10 to adhere to the ruling by the European Court.
Home Secretary Alan Johnson said: "It is crucial that we do everything we can to protect the public by preventing crime and bringing offenders to justice.
"The DNA database plays a vital role in helping us do that, providing thousands of crime scene matches every year and helping to put many criminals behind bars where they belong."
