Police Information

POLICE NEED THEIR DATA POLICING

Mon, May 21, 2001

Source:

The database that is expected to underpin much of the new Criminal Records Bureau work is full of errors.

Reports in the newspaper recently has confirmed what many had feared for years - the database that is expected to underpin much of the new Criminal Records Bureau work is full of errors.

The revelations came hot off the press from the Home Office, which has finally acknowledged that its data policy needs policing. The problem it would seem is that as the existing data, from the police forces many databases, is being pulled together it has been noted, and not for the first time, that the number of errors they contain would make the role of the bureau nigh-on worthless. The bureau, it is worth noting, will have the job of running checks on individuals that apply for work with children amongst its roles.

As we said though, the Home Office was told of this situation some time ago by the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee and even noted that to continue with the data as it currently stands could, 'let one undesirable person through the system.'

The Criminal Records Bureau, which is expected to be up and running in the Autumn, is expected to process more than 6 million inquiries a year and, due to the sensitive nature of its work, there are obviously can be no room for mistakes. The Government therefore, in response to claims that the data was suffering because of delays with data input, has promised to speed up the process of data input.

But will that be enough? Who knows, it's certainly reassuring to know that somebody there has finally sat up and taken note of the data cleanliness issue though. And probably better still is the news that the Government is now determined to provide a reliable service, which it said in one of its statements. You can only wonder what it planned otherwise.