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Hub AI
Police National Computer AI simulator
(@Police National Computer_simulator)
Hub AI
Police National Computer AI simulator
(@Police National Computer_simulator)
Police National Computer
The Police National Computer (PNC) is a crime information center and database used by members of the United Kingdom law enforcement and other non-law enforcement agencies, maintained by the Criminal Records Office (ACRO) under the governance of the National Police Chiefs' Council. Originally developed in the early 1970s, PNC1 went 'live' in 1974, providing UK police forces with online access to the lost/stolen vehicle database. The vehicle owners application quickly followed, giving the police online access to the names/addresses of every vehicle owner in the UK.
The PNC started holding nominal information based on the computerisation of criminal records held by the Metropolitan Police and other police forces in the late 1970s. These records could be accessed online in real-time by all UK police forces via the "Names" applications. It now consists of several databases available 24 hours a day, giving access to information of national and local matters. As of 18 January 2021, Kit Malthouse said that there are 13 million person records, 58.5 million driver records, and 62.6 million vehicle records stored on the PNC. The PNC is currently the responsibility of the Home Office. Between 2007 and 2012, it was maintained by the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) which inherited the activities of the now disbanded Police Information Technology Organisation (PITO). It is to be decommissioned upon the expiry of its current support contract in March 2026, being replaced by the Law Enforcement Data Service (LEDS) system.
In 1969 the National Police Computer was to open in 1972. Another government computer system was the GPO National Data Processing System, set up in 1969.
Since its inception in 1974, the PNC has undergone numerous changes that were gradually introduced. The most notable was the introduction of the Phoenix (Police and Home Office Enhanced Names Index) in 1995. This format has been retained to the present day.
The PNC is based on a Fujitsu BS2000/OSD SE700 mainframe and developed in ADABAS, with recent PNC applications held on UNIX servers. 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 link provided by Cable & Wireless. Another connection method is via an X.25 packet-switched network; this method is being phased out. Databases for vehicles and driver 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.
In 2005 the only back-up server was located next to Hertfordshire Oil Storage Terminal in Buncefield, which was the scene of a major civil emergency when it burned to the ground in December 2005. According to the Home Office the location had been assessed as low-risk notwithstanding that the site was 100 yards (91 m) from a disaster hazard and the site and its surroundings burned to the ground.
Requests for access to PNC are decided upon by the PNC Information Access Panel (PIAP). The members of the panel are the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC), the Association of Police Authorities, and the Home Office. Delegated or subcontracted users exist.
Organisations with full access:
Police National Computer
The Police National Computer (PNC) is a crime information center and database used by members of the United Kingdom law enforcement and other non-law enforcement agencies, maintained by the Criminal Records Office (ACRO) under the governance of the National Police Chiefs' Council. Originally developed in the early 1970s, PNC1 went 'live' in 1974, providing UK police forces with online access to the lost/stolen vehicle database. The vehicle owners application quickly followed, giving the police online access to the names/addresses of every vehicle owner in the UK.
The PNC started holding nominal information based on the computerisation of criminal records held by the Metropolitan Police and other police forces in the late 1970s. These records could be accessed online in real-time by all UK police forces via the "Names" applications. It now consists of several databases available 24 hours a day, giving access to information of national and local matters. As of 18 January 2021, Kit Malthouse said that there are 13 million person records, 58.5 million driver records, and 62.6 million vehicle records stored on the PNC. The PNC is currently the responsibility of the Home Office. Between 2007 and 2012, it was maintained by the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) which inherited the activities of the now disbanded Police Information Technology Organisation (PITO). It is to be decommissioned upon the expiry of its current support contract in March 2026, being replaced by the Law Enforcement Data Service (LEDS) system.
In 1969 the National Police Computer was to open in 1972. Another government computer system was the GPO National Data Processing System, set up in 1969.
Since its inception in 1974, the PNC has undergone numerous changes that were gradually introduced. The most notable was the introduction of the Phoenix (Police and Home Office Enhanced Names Index) in 1995. This format has been retained to the present day.
The PNC is based on a Fujitsu BS2000/OSD SE700 mainframe and developed in ADABAS, with recent PNC applications held on UNIX servers. 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 link provided by Cable & Wireless. Another connection method is via an X.25 packet-switched network; this method is being phased out. Databases for vehicles and driver 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.
In 2005 the only back-up server was located next to Hertfordshire Oil Storage Terminal in Buncefield, which was the scene of a major civil emergency when it burned to the ground in December 2005. According to the Home Office the location had been assessed as low-risk notwithstanding that the site was 100 yards (91 m) from a disaster hazard and the site and its surroundings burned to the ground.
Requests for access to PNC are decided upon by the PNC Information Access Panel (PIAP). The members of the panel are the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC), the Association of Police Authorities, and the Home Office. Delegated or subcontracted users exist.
Organisations with full access: