Handheld DNA testing machines will revolutionise the investigation of murder, rape and other serious crime by producing results from the national database within an hour.

“Rapid DNA” technology will enable detectives to test material at the scene of a crime or in a police station and eliminate the need to send it to a laboratory.

A Whitehall briefing paper discusses the use of portable equipment for DNA analysis in one hour rather than three or four days with the longer-term aim of reducing the testing time to 30 minutes.

The development, described as a “step change in the speed of DNA analysis”, will be piloted by British police forces next year and save many millions of pounds.