Abstract
Police stations have become repositories of both ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ information on members of the public, collated from various sources. ‘Hard’ information is that which is verifiable (like conviction records) and ‘soft’ information is less verifiable (like police intelligence). The means of storage are now digital in nature and include such databases as the Police National Computer (PNC), the Police National Database (PND) and the, currently being implemented, Law Enforcement Data Services (LEDS). The sources of this information are from police investigations, multi-agency meetings or ‘hubs’ discussing child welfare, domestic violence, and child sexual exploitation. Voluntary organisations also input information such as Neighbourhood Watch, Shopwatch, Pubwatch, ‘Crimestoppers’ etc. Some people are more vaguely designated as simply ‘known to the police’ and as such may have ‘non conviction information’ held on them.
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Notes
- 1.
The terms ‘non-conviction information’, ‘police intelligence’ or ‘soft intelligence’ are used interchangeably.
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Thomas, T., Bennett, K. (2019). The Nature of ‘Non-conviction Information’. In: Employment Screening and Non-Conviction Information. Palgrave Pivot, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-28711-5_2
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