By Staff writer                                                                                      08/05/08
Health experts, community and church leaders have thrown their support behind a new campaign to end the practice of adding the details of patients in need of mental health care to the national DNA criminal database .

‘The DNA database may well have been set up for a good purpose but it will have a detrimental effect on those seeking help from the services, as they may well asked the police for help and then find themselves  jeopardised for that. 

This seems to be an additional and unnecessary burden, which just adds to the difficulties faced by black service users ', consultant psychiatrist  Prof Suman Fernando of the National BME Mental Health Network said.

BMH UK are concerned that the dangers of bad science could lead to miscarriages of justice  where a patient could end up convicted of a crime based on the fact that their details are on this system.

‘Any thing that perpetuates the overrepresentation of African Caribbean's within the criminal justice system or the mental health system should be avoided. The DNA criminal database will do just that  and so this has to be addressed,' Chinyere Inayama solicitor, mental health act lawyer said

‘A service user could be quite inappropriately interviewed by the police and then they are likely to be on the DNA register, which might well make them the focus of suspicion if there is a crime in the area,' Professor Fernando said.

This new campaign comes on the back of new data which has revealed that 55% of minority groups are already on the DNA database have not committed any crime.

The lastest Statewatch report shows that black men are six times more likely to be stopped and searched than white men, under the Police and Ciminal Evidence Act (PACE)  1984.  Under the Terrorism Act (2000), the number of stop and searches of black people rose by 229 percent.

‘It is worrying to know that anyone can fall into this category just by being stopped and searched. If anyone is stopped by the police is should not automatically mean that DNA is taken. Such an open ended policy can be easily manipulated and leaves scope for abuse,' Pastor Ade Omoobe of Christian Concern for Our Nation said.

The petition is calling for the removal of the details of every patient who has not been convicted of any crime who has been added to the DNA database in the process of accessing mental health services.

African Caribbean communities are 50% more likely to be referred to mental health services through the courts or after being detained in police custody and so will have had their DNA taken during this process.

‘More investments should be put into that people trust that are in the heart of the community, rather than treating mental health patients like a criminals. This is injustice. Because they are ill, they are treated as criminals, what example are we setting for them,' Debbie Ahene director 2SA told Black Mental Health UK.

To have the genetic data of those who were seeking healthcare stored on a criminal database if they have not been convicted of any crime undermines a patients civil liberties and the  campaigns group is urging people to support this call for justice by adding their name to a 10 Downing Street petition, which is calling on Prime Minister Gordon Brown to end this practice, which they say is needlessly criminalising an already marginalised group.

The recent high profile data losses of child benefit details, there is also concern among patients and their carers who have no way of knowing how secure DNA storage is.

‘Those who are innocent of any crime should have the right to have their details removed from the DNA database. Otherwise we inadvertently criminalise a section of society that already faces challenges when trying to reintegrate back into society after they have used the services,' Matilda MacAttram director of Black Mental Health UK said.

Add your name to BMH UK's campaign for justice.