Belgium, Germany begin sharing DNA records to combat cross-border crime

Belgium and Germany have begun sharing their DNA databases, in a bid to combat organized cross-border crime and terrorism, the Belgian federal prosecutor announced on Monday.

In a joint statement with the Belgian National Institute of Criminalistics and Criminology (INCC), the prosecutor said that the first exchange of information between the two countries had identified 2,943 connections between suspects on the Belgian DNA database and the German equivalent.

Belgian broadcaster RTBF said a similar DNA exchange has been in place with the Netherlands since July 2014 and with France since January 2015.

The German agreement came into force at the end of April and a similar deal with Luxembourg is likely to be signed this month, the broadcaster added.

Belgian justice minister Koen Geens said in the statement: "This will allow us to combat organized crime, especially in border regions where criminals often cross country boundaries to commit their crimes."

Geens added that the exchange of information would be particularly helpful in fighting and quickly detecting terrorism, where suspects often operate as part of an international network.

The Belgian-German DNA exchange has brought up 52 profiles of murder suspects, 330 suspected thieves and 91 sex crimes, the joint statement added. Enditem