A new campaign is calling for the deletion of police records for anyone who has not committed a criminal offence and whose DNA is removed from the National Criminal DNA database.
Spearheaded by Black Mental Health UK (BMHUK) and backed by GeneWatch UK, the online campaign is demanding that the records of all innocent people be deleted from the Police National Computer (PNC) and Police National Database (PND) at the same time that their DNA is deleted.
The government recently announced the automatic deletion of DNA profiles and fingerprints for anyone who has not been convicted of an criminal offence, which has been laid out in the Protection of Freedom Bill.
But campaigners say this does not go far enough. BMHUK say that unless the PNC and PND records are deleted at the same time as any photos, up to a million innocent people will still retain the status of a criminal.
Anyone who is profiled on the DNA database has their details entered onto three databases: the National DNA database, the fingerprint database and the Police National Database (formerly the Police National Computer).
Current retention of the PNC and PND records is to age 100. These records can be used to refuse someone a visa or a job because they have a record of arrest, even though they may have committed no crime.
“This bill is very welcome in its proposals to remove the DNA and fingerprint record of innocent people but it is important innocent people also don’t have criminal records on the police national computer,” Helen Wallace director of GeneWatch UK said.
The Protection of Freedom Bill is currently at the Committee stage in the House of Commons, and mental health charity BMHUK are asking people to visit the campaigns page on their website and lobby their local MP.
Matilda MacAttram director of BMHUK said: “Now is the time to contact your MP over the retention of the PNC and PND records of innocent people, who have been profiled on the DNA database. We must let them know that we want these records destroyed at the same time all innocent DNA is deleted as this has major implications on how people will be treated in the future.”
Source: BMHUK
