A Bangor housing association could turn to forensic science to help catch residents dumping used drug needles on a city estate.

It comes after a number of hypodermic ‘pins’ were found in the Maesgeirchen area of Bangor recently.

Cartrefi Cymunedol Gwynedd (CCG). a social landlord with 6,300 homes across Gwynedd, has now launched a pilot scheme which could see them analyse DNA found on the needles and other evidence in a bid to catch the culprits.

And it could even take action against its tenants if one of its tenants is caught dumping them.

Geraint Jones, CCG’s Neighbourhood Services manager, said: “We are always keen to work with partners to safeguard these areas and minimise the risk from needles that have been disposed of in public areas.

http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/forensics-could-used-identify-needle-8622248

This is probably good for making headlines, but otherwise most improbable. It would take police action to agree access to databases that might contain, for crime-related reasons, the DNA profiles of local addicts. This is, of should be, unlikely to occur since the rules governing use of that data is highly regulated.

It’s a good idea, to track down the user, or users if needles are shared. This might bring them into the fold of public health interventions directed at reducing drug dependency, homelessness etc. But to catch someone in this situation using DNA technology, and to pile more pressure on addicts to drive them yet further underground just in the name of environmental regulation seems like a misguided approach. That is not the role of a social housing group.

Time will tell, long after the newspaper and its dramatic headline becomes tomorrow’s chip wrapper.