Set up through the Prime Minister's website. Number 10.gov, by the human rights group, Black Mental Health UK  this petition will give the hundreds and thousands of innocent people from the community a chance to speak out about these plans.

‘We should do everything to ensure that those who get our vote take action in the best interests of our communities, signing this petition will send a clear message that there isn't the support on the ground about this Bill,' Dr Lez Henry, director of NuBeyound Ltd said.

Agencies from all quarters of the community thrown their support behind this move, which has seen growing numbers of community leaders unite in their opposition to proposals within the new Bill. They have voiced concern at the way the over representation of innocent people from African Caribbean communities profiled on the DNA database has been completely sidelined.  

DNA database threat to race relations
Race equality experts warn that the database now poses one of the most serious threats to race relations to date. They say that there is a danger that it will shatter the communities trust in crime prevention agencies if the Government does not put this right and commit to deleting the records of every single person from the DNA dabase.   

The Crime and Security Bill came under fire from opposition parties when it was presented to parliament during the second reading of the Bill last Monday.

Home Secretary Alan Johnson set out new measures on the retention of DNA in response the European Court of Human Rights judgement, which ruled as unlawful the current practice of  the indefinite retention of innocent  DNA  on the criminal database .

 In this new Bill the government has proposed that all innocent DNA continue to be kept by the police on the national criminal database of a minimum of six years.

‘The proposals in this bill mean that once someone from our community comes in contact with the police it could turn into a sentence for life, because who knows what can happen within six years. This is unacceptable, people need to actively campaign against this and add their support to  this new petition  or order to get this changed, ' Frederick Clarke director of Mighty Men of Valour said.

DNA database has criminalised black Britain  There is concern at the way this new Bill has completely ignored the covert way in which almost every black family has been criminalised through the database. Equality group have warned that the DNA database now poses one of the most serious threats to race relations to date. 

While welcoming the technology as a crime fighting tool, equality groups have slammed the way that the database has surreptitiously criminalised whole communities.

Per capita Britain has the largest DNA database in the world with over 5.1million  people currently profiled on the system.  However over a million of DNA samples in the system are from people who are innocent and have not been convicted of any crime.  Home office data shows that  77% of all young black men living in the UK are profiled on the database[i] even though the Home Office's own research shows that people from this group are less likely to commit a crime than their white counterparts.[ii]

In London alone 57% of innocent samples taken in the Capital are from people from African Caribbean communities. Disturbingly 42% of the entire black male population living in the UK are profiled on the DNA database making it clear that the proposals within the Crime and Security Bill will have a direct impact on the civil liberties of people from this group.

‘The purpose of retaining an individual's DNA profile in a database is to treat them as a suspect for any future crime. It is unacceptable for an innocent person to be placed in such a position for six years.  The over represenation of black people on the database means that this injustice will hit minority communities hardest. We encourge anyone who agrees with us on this to add their name to our online petition and ecourage anyone esle they know to do the same.  Now is to time to speak out.  In a few months time it may be to late,'' Matilda MacAttram director of Black Mental Health UK said.