Police National Computer

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The Police National Computer (PNC) is a computer system used extensively by law enforcement organisations across the UK. Created in 1974 and now consisting of several databases accessible 24 hours a day, giving access to information of national as well as local significance. As of July 2006 there are over 97 million records held on the PNC (including persons, driving licences and vehicles) and over 13 million record transactions took place over the same month. It is currently run by the Police Information Technology Organisation (PITO).

The PNC currently is based on a Siemens S-170 mainframe running the BS2000 operating system with recent PNC applications held on UNIX servers. Currently there are around 26,000 directly connected terminals and 25,000 terminals which are connected via local police force computer systems. The Mainframe is connected to the end user by a multitude of ways, for high volume users (i.e. Other Police Forces) via Secure IP Network, for low volume users a secure dial up mechanism provided by Cable & Wireless. Another connection method is via a X.25 packet-switched network, this method is currently being phased out. Databases for vehicles and drivers licences are copied from the DVLA databases in the early morning (there is no service loss when an update is in progress) The mainframe server is located at the Hendon Data Centre with back up servers located around the UK.

Organisations with Full Access:

All mainland police forces of Great Britain
Police Service of Northern Island (PSNI)
British Transport Police (BTP)
Isle of Man and Channel Islands Police
National Identificiation Service (NIS)
Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA)
Ministry of Defence Police
HM Revenue & Customs

Other organisations have Restricted access they include; Courts Service, Probation Service and the Criminal Records Buraeu

Major databases include:

Criminal records - Contains information and descriptive details of people who have been convicted / cautioned or recently arrested, including links to fingerprints and DNA. Full details of all convictions are stored. Further listed are persons who are wanted, missing or disqualified from driving.

Vehicle records - Provides details on the registered keeper of a motor vehicle, aswell as storing other information from the DVLA as to the vehicles status (Tax Expired, V23 Submitted, Stolen etc). Certain reports can be added by organisations which relate to the vehicle or occupant status, examples include if the occupants are believed to be involved in crime or are missing, if the vehicle is stolen, if the vehicle is believed to be cloned. The vehicle record system is currently linked to the Motor Insurance Database (maintained by the Motor Insurers Bureau) which can confirm if an insurance policy is on the vehicle. As of 2006 the DVLA have begun to computerize the MOT test, as a result a link has been created to the PNC which shows the expiration date of the MOT test on that vehicle, at the start of 2007 the role out will be completed all vehicles will show this.

Property details - Certain types of stolen and found property can be placed onto the PNC system, these are; Trailers, Plant, Engines, Animals, Marine and Firearms.

Drivers Database - This recently added database contains information on 48 million people who either hold a driving licence or are disqualified from holding one. The record will contain information relating to test passes, endorsements and the licence entitlements.

With the growth of transnational criminality, the PNC is to be linked to the Schengen Information System (SIS) which shares certain information Europe-wide. The PNC was born in 1974 with Stolen Vehicles as its initial database. Since then, additional applications have been implemented almost every year. The range of facilities, level of detail and potential value of information stored on the PNC has improved significantly. This has led to the PNC being more of a investigative tool rather than its original purpose of a record keeping one.

A number of criminal justice partners are linked to the PNC, giving them access to the information held on the computer. About 5,000 checks are made each week through the ‘Jurors’ link, which allows crown courts to check whether a proposed juror has a criminal record. Previously, the Courts Service struggled to meet its target of randomly checking 20 per cent of potential jury members.