Police Launch National Crime Database

Police in the UK have set up a database that allows forces around the country to share and access locally held intelligence. The National Policing Improvement Agency says the new tool will help to identify patterns of criminal behaviour and take action more quickly.

Until now, information about criminals has had to be shared manually between police forces. This can take up to two weeks to access the relevant files, due to vast amounts of bureaucracy, and can also lead to mistakes. Using the new database, developed with service company Logica, police will be able to access this information in a matter of minutes.

“The Police National Database will be a powerful crime fighting tool allowing forces to access existing intelligence which is currently only held on local systems,” said policing and criminal justice minister Nick Herbert. “It is strongly in the interests of the public and the victims of crime that this information is shared so that criminals can be pursued and brought to justice.”

‘Superb investigation tool’

The NPIA has been rolling out the national system to police forces and law enforcement agencies across the UK over the last few months. During this time it has been used to bring down a northern-based organised crime group that had been operating in the south of the country, as well as tracking down an AWOL soldier and a serious and organised drugs offender.

Holly Wells’ parents Nicola and Kevin Wells welcomed the new tool, that was developed on the recommendation of Lord Michael Bichard’s inquiry into the failings in police intelligence sharing, which led to the Soham murders in 2002.

“The PND is a superb investigation tool which could well change the face of policing, and we very much welcome its introduction,” they said in a statement. “It is heartening to know that because of Holly and Jessica, the vulnerable in our society will be better protected and those criminals who have previously used force borders as a shield will find it harder to hide and avoid detection.”

Sharon and Les Chapman, parents of Jessica, also said they were glad that something constructive had come out of their loss.

Security is paramount

Storing large quantities of sensitive data in a single place often gives rise to security concerns, as hackers only need a single point of entry to access the whole system. However, Herbert said that robust safeguards are in place to ensure that only authorised and vetted users have access to the system.

Special access controls ensure that users only have access to information that they require for their particular policing roles, and there are extensive auditing systems in place to deter misuse, according to the PND. It has been agreed that witness data will not be shared, and that victim information will only be shared in cases where there is a demonstrable link to the ‘safeguarding agenda’ – e.g. murder, kidnapping, wounding with intent to cause GBH, and sexual offences.

However, Alex Teh, commercial director at Vigil Software, warned of the need for rigorous security processes.

“With one central repository storing highly sensitive data, it will be absolutely imperative to ensure that the most stringent measures are in place, from access authentication to preventative monitoring and encryption to ensure that this is a watertight system,” said Teh. “It only takes one weak access connection at one police force for data to get into the wrong hands.”

Police get connected

Earlier this year, the NPIA teamed up with IT specialist Recipero to integrate the National Mobile Phone Register into the Police National Computer. While in the past, police officers had to ask their control room to conduct a search of the register to determine whether a handset had been stolen, they can now access this database from a smartphone whilst out on the beat.

Police data has also raised privacy concerns, for instance when it emerged that the Metropolitan Police will use GeoTime tracking software to follow individuals’ online activity.

And increased police use of handheld devices such as BlackBerrys should ultimately increase the volume of data available, and the speed with which it is available, making it easier to harvest information.