Access by the US authorities to information held on the Police National Computer
Published 14 January 2010
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We have a received a request for the following: access by the US authorities to information held on the Police National Computer.
We released the following information on 14 January 2010:
The United States authorities do not have routine access to criminal record information held on the Police National Computer, the Criminal History System (in Scotland) or the Northern Ireland Criminal Record. The United States authorities are able to seek details of any criminal convictions held on the Police National Computer on an individual request basis through Interpol channels.
Criminal conviction information on US Nationals who have been convicted of offences in England and Wales is extracted from UK records and sent, via Interpol channels to the United States in cases where there are fingerprints available and when the conviction is for imprisonment for 12 months or more or the offence is against national security or where sharing would be in the interests of public protection.
You may also be aware of Police Certificates. The Police Certificate arrangements are with the individual applicants who may or may not choose to subsequently share the content of the certificate with the US authorities. It is not routine access to UK criminal records by the American authorities. Further information on the ACRO Police Certificate Process can be found on the ACRO website.