More than 300 Belgian suspects were identified in the UK since Belgium and the UK started automatically exchanging DNA data on 21 December for forensic research.
In 312 cases among 2,180 matches, "an unidentified trace DNA profile could be associated with a person known to the English authorities, registered in their database," Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne's office said.
The vast majority of these matches (223) concern burglaries, followed by theft with violence (18), gang affiliation (14), molesting or rape (12) and drugs (12).
In addition, four Belgian traces found in the context of a murder have been matched with an individual already on file in the British database.
The exchange is "extremely promising," Van Quickenborne said according to Het Nieuwsblad.
Jason Spinks
The Brussels Times
