The names of more than 400,000 people are now included in the justice ministry’s DNA databank, and 62% of samples taken from crime scenes now result in a match, the Dutch forensic institute NFI said on Wednesday.

The first Dutch DNA bank was set up in 1997, and the first DNA came from someone suspected of serious sex crimes. Checks in the databank now result in between 200 and 400 matches a month, the institute said.  

“A match does not necessarily mean you have the suspect,” databank chief Nico van der Geest told RTL Nieuws. “It is just an indication and you always need further police research.”

Since 2005 everyone who is convicted of a crime that could result in a jail sentence of at least four years has to give a sample for the databank.

The new cabinet has also said it wants to expand police powers to cover commercial DNA databanks, which people have used to trace relatives or their genetic ancestors.

Last year, police said they wanted to use private genealogy DNA data banks to solve two cold cases in Limburg, in what would be a Dutch legal first. The two data banks, both American, were chosen because users have to agree that their DNA be used in criminal investigations.