AC1.2– Assess the usefulness of investigative techniques in criminal
investigations.
Police National Computer
A national database of information available to all police forces, law enforcement
agencies and other specified bodies in the UK. It was developed in the early 1970s but
went ‘live’ in 1974 to hold personal data that relates to individuals such as arrests,
charges, summons, court disposals, warnings, and whether they are wanted or missing
as well as information about vehicles and stolen property.
It is one of the main sources of information used when doing a DBS check– as of
January 18th 2021, there are 13 million personal records, 58.5 million driver’s records,
and 62.6 million vehicle records stored on the PNC.
Strength
★ Could be useful for identifying pattern behaviour in a suspect, which may
aid law enforcement in identifying the most likely suspect in any crime.
Limitation
★ If used too religiously, it could give investigators tunnel vision on a
suspect– i.e. they have the expected previous crimes/behaviour on their
record so become the most likely suspect– but may not actually be.
Similarly, it could prematurely eliminate a suspect if not used effectively
and with caution.
★ If somebody is not charged with a crime, their fingerprints and DNA are
deleted from the PNC. Similarly, after someone’s 100th Birthday, all their
information is deleted from the database too.
★ There can also be confusion when two very similar identities come up
when a name is searched, and if not properly reviewed can lead to the
wrong person being charged with a crime they didn't commit, as in the
case of Asim (and Azim). While searching the database for Azim, officers
confused him with Asim, who has the same last name. However, upon
further inspection, the two men have very different personal information
(their DOBs were over 3.5 years apart, and Azim had points on his license
where Asim did not). This resulted in Azim’s charges being filed under
Asim’s name, causing a huge problem. Asim sued the police department
and won a settlement of around £5000.
, Gang Violence Matrix/Crimint
An intelligence tool used to identify and risk assess gang members across London and
other areas. It was created in an attempt to reduce gang related violence, safeguard
those being victimised and prevent lives being lost. Gang members are identified and
prioritised by most violent.
It provides the identity of gang members, the risk posed by them, as well as those at
risk of victimisation. It also aims to safeguard those exploited by gangs and organised
crime rings.
It is most useful for investigating gang related crime or organised crime and was created
as part of the government’s response to the 2011 riots.
It is used by the Met in roles that are relevant to gangs and organised crime, and is
considered a multi-agency approach to tackling gang crime.
It’s largely used in London, as well as by CSPs (Community Safety Partners), which
include Local Authorities, Youth Offending Service, National Probation Service, and
Community Rehabilitation Company.
Strengths
★ It's only available to staff who are trained and work within gang prevention units.
★ Names must meet requirements to be added to the database– seeing
themselves as a discernible group, and engage in a range of criminal activity.
★ Identifies gang members in London,
★ Aids in prioritisation during resource allocation and methods of intervention.
★ Highlights possible gaps in activity or intelligence on violent gang subjects.
Limitations
★ Racially biased structure which resulted in increased surveillance and
persecution of young black men.
★ The percentage of black people on the matrix is higher than the percentage of
the London population.
★ Being redesigned and discontinued, the Violence Ham Assessment (VHA) is
now used instead,
★ Information from the system was leaked which could be very dangerous.
investigations.
Police National Computer
A national database of information available to all police forces, law enforcement
agencies and other specified bodies in the UK. It was developed in the early 1970s but
went ‘live’ in 1974 to hold personal data that relates to individuals such as arrests,
charges, summons, court disposals, warnings, and whether they are wanted or missing
as well as information about vehicles and stolen property.
It is one of the main sources of information used when doing a DBS check– as of
January 18th 2021, there are 13 million personal records, 58.5 million driver’s records,
and 62.6 million vehicle records stored on the PNC.
Strength
★ Could be useful for identifying pattern behaviour in a suspect, which may
aid law enforcement in identifying the most likely suspect in any crime.
Limitation
★ If used too religiously, it could give investigators tunnel vision on a
suspect– i.e. they have the expected previous crimes/behaviour on their
record so become the most likely suspect– but may not actually be.
Similarly, it could prematurely eliminate a suspect if not used effectively
and with caution.
★ If somebody is not charged with a crime, their fingerprints and DNA are
deleted from the PNC. Similarly, after someone’s 100th Birthday, all their
information is deleted from the database too.
★ There can also be confusion when two very similar identities come up
when a name is searched, and if not properly reviewed can lead to the
wrong person being charged with a crime they didn't commit, as in the
case of Asim (and Azim). While searching the database for Azim, officers
confused him with Asim, who has the same last name. However, upon
further inspection, the two men have very different personal information
(their DOBs were over 3.5 years apart, and Azim had points on his license
where Asim did not). This resulted in Azim’s charges being filed under
Asim’s name, causing a huge problem. Asim sued the police department
and won a settlement of around £5000.
, Gang Violence Matrix/Crimint
An intelligence tool used to identify and risk assess gang members across London and
other areas. It was created in an attempt to reduce gang related violence, safeguard
those being victimised and prevent lives being lost. Gang members are identified and
prioritised by most violent.
It provides the identity of gang members, the risk posed by them, as well as those at
risk of victimisation. It also aims to safeguard those exploited by gangs and organised
crime rings.
It is most useful for investigating gang related crime or organised crime and was created
as part of the government’s response to the 2011 riots.
It is used by the Met in roles that are relevant to gangs and organised crime, and is
considered a multi-agency approach to tackling gang crime.
It’s largely used in London, as well as by CSPs (Community Safety Partners), which
include Local Authorities, Youth Offending Service, National Probation Service, and
Community Rehabilitation Company.
Strengths
★ It's only available to staff who are trained and work within gang prevention units.
★ Names must meet requirements to be added to the database– seeing
themselves as a discernible group, and engage in a range of criminal activity.
★ Identifies gang members in London,
★ Aids in prioritisation during resource allocation and methods of intervention.
★ Highlights possible gaps in activity or intelligence on violent gang subjects.
Limitations
★ Racially biased structure which resulted in increased surveillance and
persecution of young black men.
★ The percentage of black people on the matrix is higher than the percentage of
the London population.
★ Being redesigned and discontinued, the Violence Ham Assessment (VHA) is
now used instead,
★ Information from the system was leaked which could be very dangerous.
