The increasing use of DNA databases has made them the subject of a number of debates, academic and non-academic. The England and Wales National DNA database (NDNAD), the largest forensic database in the world was established way back in 1995. Since then it has grown immensely in terms of the profiling it undertakes-changes in criminal legislation have widened its dragnet. While exceptional case procedures have been prescribed for dealing with requests for the destruction/removal of DNA samples and profiles from the NDNAD, these are currently taking a bad hit from the exceptional rule which is that the destruction of samples or removal of profiles should only be exercised in exceptional cases (with no definite statement on definition or scope of these exceptional cases). This has imposed a cumbersome burden on the "innocent." This paper examines the issues involved and proposes, inter alia, that the burden of proving that there is no exception be borne by the collector of the DNA sample/data controller in order to provide a safeguard for the rights of all those who come within the purview of the criminal justice system by chance.