Audit to probe if gardaí are breaking the law by retaining fingerprints for over a year

It is unclear why the audit is being done nine years after the law making it illegal to retain prints for more than 12 months came into force

The Garda press office said: 'An Garda Síochána is planning an audit of the paper-based 'wet ink' fingerprint records from the period prior to 2019 for the purpose of identifying what records should be retained and what records are required to be destroyed arising from no lawful provision to retain them.' File photo

A major audit is underway of fingerprints in possession of An Garda Síochána (AGS) to check whether they are being legally held. 

A law was enacted in 2015 that made it illegal to retain prints for more than 12 months unless special circumstances apply.