Members of the public are to be asked their views on whether they want to be a nation of "citizens or suspects".
A consultation has been launched by the Nuffield Council on Bioethics on whether laws allowing police to take, store and analyse DNA from suspects, witnesses and victims should be revised.
The study follows Prime Minister Tony Blair's views that the innocent have no reason to be afraid, and that the maximum number of people should be included on it.
The Council said that police in England and Wales have powers, "unrivalled internationally", to take DNA from an arrested person without consent.
His or her DNA profile is stored on the National DNA Database indefinitely, irrespective of whether or not charges are brought.
"We want to hear the public's views on whether storing the DNA profiles of victims and suspects who are later not charged, or acquitted, is justified by the need to fight crime," said Professor Bob Hepple QC, chairman of the Council.
"Certain groups such as young males and ethnic minorities are over-represented on the database, and the Council will be asking whether this potential for bias in law enforcement is acceptable."
He added: "So far, the views of the British public are not really known."
The Council will examine whether it would be fairer to include everyone on the database, a process that Prof Hepple said would take a couple of generations to complete and involve enormous costs.
The UK's National DNA Database was set up in 1995. It is the largest per capita in the world, with profiles of more than three million people.
