Lincolnshire Police is one step closer to finding criminals in the county with the launch of the Police National Database (PND) on June 23.
It’s a central database that pools together local force information and intelligence. Each UK police force can input, search and access information.
According to Lincolnshire Police, PND “will provide a major step forward for tackling serious and organised crime and protecting the public”.
Chris Bennett, a Detective Inspector at Lincolnshire Police, said: “PND will allow us immediate access, 24 hours a day, to the information we as police forces already retain and share.
“It will ensure that officers have a more complete picture about people and events on a national basis when investigating serious crime or making important decisions in relation to protecting the public.
“For example, we may become aware of someone representing a danger to the public who has moved to a neighbourhood in Lincolnshire.
“With PND we will not have to request and wait for information that is required immediately to assess any risk they may pose to the community, we will have direct access to the information.
“This will allow us to make informed decisions on how to manage the situation, taking into consideration the rights of the individual and the community.”
There are privacy concerns over if the database of sensitive information is vulnerable to hackers, given the recent activity of hacking groups like Anonymous and LulzSec.
The National Police Improvement Agency (NPIA) insists that the database is “the most secure national police system developed to date”.
Nick Herbert, Policing and Criminal Justice Minister, said: “Robust safeguards are in place to ensure that access to this information is properly limited and civil liberties are protected.”
