Home Office circular 23 / 2005

Fingerprints and the use of the Police Elimination Database

Dear Chief Officer,

This Circular provides guidance to police forces on fingerprints and the use of the Police Elimination Database (PEDb) which forms part of the National Automated Fingerprint Identification System (NAFIS) managed by PITO.

2. Regulation 18 of the Police Regulations 2003 provides that every member of a police force shall in accordance with the directions of the Chief Officer have his fingerprints taken. The fingerprints shall be kept separately from fingerprints taken in other circumstances and shall be destroyed on leaving the police force except where, by reason of a statutory transfer, he becomes a member of another force, in which case the records and copies should be transferred to the chief officer of the new force. (On transfer to a force other than on a statutory transfer, a new set of fingerprints should be taken).

3. Fingerprints are taken for elimination purposes only and will be held in an electronic format in a discrete database (on the local PEDb) within NAFIS under the authority of the relevant Chief Officer. The PEDb may only be interrogated by the Force Fingerprint Bureau of the officer concerned.

4. Where fingerprints are found at the scene of a crime, a search of the PEDb will be made automatically to identify and eliminate from enquiries the fingerprints of officers and others attending crime scenes whose fingerprints are held on the PEDb. The search of the PEDb is for elimination purposes only and will be conducted prior to search through the main criminal and intelligence fingerprint database. It is to be noted that because of the difficulties in identifying all attendees at scenes-of-crime and in order to streamline the process, the marks are searched against the entire (individual force) PEDb and not against the profiles of individual officers.

5. The Police Advisory Board for England and Wales (PABEW) agreed on 9 February 2005 that the fingerprints of police officers and others whose fingerprints are to be held on the PEDb database would be taken and stored in accordance with the protocol attached at 'A'. The Home Secretary has agreed that the protocol should be observed at all times by all police forces.

6. The Home Office has drafted a standard letter which should be issued to new recruits and serving police officers, as appropriate, explaining why fingerprints are being taken and the circumstances in which they will be used. The letter is at 'B'.

7. It is acknowledged also that Special Constables, forensic support staff, Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) and other police staff are likely to come into contact with scenes of crime and may also leave marks unwittingly which need to be eliminated. There is no legal requirement for fingerprints to be given in these cases although forces should consider including such a requirement in the employment contract of PCSOs and other relevant police staff. In all other cases, those who come within this category should be encouraged to provide their fingerprints for elimination purposes and their fingerprints retained on a separate part of the PEDb and searched in accordance with the procedure for searches of police officers’ prints. A letter is provided at 'C' for forces to obtain the informed consent of such individuals.

8. If you have any queries about this Circular please contact Isobel Rowlands on 020 7035 1890 or via e-mail at Isobel.Rowlands@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk


Police Human Resources Unit
April 2005

Annex A Protocol

Fingerprints of police officers

Regulation 18 of the Police Regulations 2003 provides that every member of a police force shall in accordance with the directions of the Chief Officer have his or her fingerprints taken.

2. The fingerprints shall be kept separately from fingerprints taken for other purposes and shall be destroyed on leaving the police force except where the individual is transferred statutorily to another force in which case the record and copies shall be transferred to the Chief Officer of that other force. Other than this, a new set of fingerprints should be taken on transfer to another force.

Fingerprints of Special Constables, Support Staff and Others

3. Although there is no similar power to require fingerprints from others, it is acknowledged that there are other categories of people whose roles bring them into regular contact with scenes-of-crime and whose fingerprints should be taken and retained for elimination purposes. These include Special Constables; Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs); crime scene examiners; forensic support staff; police photographers; surgeons; pathologists; mortuary workers; exhibits officers; and a range of contractors such as vehicle removers, locksmiths and glaziers. This list is not exhaustive.

4. Chief Officers should encourage all such individuals on appointment to a relevant role to provide fingerprints for elimination purposes only. Individuals should be assured that the prints will be retained no longer than necessary and destroyed when the individual leaves or changes his or her role. Informed consent must be obtained and the prints of such individuals retained on a separate section of the Police Elimination Database (PEDb). A standard consent letter for this purpose is provided at 'C'.

General

5. Fingerprints are taken for elimination purposes only and will be held under the authority of the Chief Officer on the Police Elimination Database (PEDb) which forms part of the National Automated Fingerprint Identification System (NAFIS) managed by PITO.

6. The purpose of obtaining fingerprints is to allow for checking for innocent marks left unwittingly at scenes-of-crime against fingerprints obtained in the process of crime investigation. However, a search may be conducted for other than elimination purposes in very exceptional circumstances. In such circumstances, the authority in writing of a chief officer will be required.

7. Contamination of the crime scene can be reduced through taking sensible measures to ensure marks are not left at scenes-of-crime. The investigation of crime can be misled by unidentified marks left at a scene and delays in detection can ensue. It is important that steps are taken to minimise contamination and delay.

Quality of prints

8. The higher the quality of the ten-print set, the more accurate and efficient the system will be. Elimination prints currently held in paper collections should be quality checked prior to scanning and retaken if they do not meet the desired standard. All forces should ensure this is completed by June 2005.

Internal investigations and misconduct

9. Fingerprints are generally retained for elimination purposes only. Searches of the PEDb should not be used therefore as part of a complaints or misconduct investigation. However, a search may be conducted for other than elimination purposes in very exceptional circumstances. In such circumstances, the authority in writing of a chief officer will be required.

10. Use of the PEDb other than for elimination purposes (except as indicated above) will undermine the very positive support for the PEDb. The audit trails within NAFIS generally, and within this facility in particular, are comprehensive. Any clandestine activity is traceable to the operator concerned and may be disclosable at any subsequent proceedings.

New recruits

11. The fingerprints of police recruits and Special Constables should be taken on appointment (that is, no later than at the time of attestation) and loaded directly onto the PEDb. The fingerprints should not be used to check for criminal record on the PNC. Checks for criminal records are conducted as part of the recruitment process by other means – see ‘police applicants’ below. A standard letter as set out at ‘B’ should be provided to and signed by each recruit. The letter may also be appropriate where new sets of prints are taken from serving officers on transfer or otherwise.

Applicants to the police service

12. The criminal records and criminal associations of applicants and their families are checked via the PNC against personal details included on the application form and confirmed via production of a passport (or similar) identification. Employment and education history, previous addresses and local intelligence checks, financial vetting and security vetting are also carried out. Applicants should not therefore be fingerprinted in order to carry out a criminal convictions check.

Search procedure

13. Where fingerprints are found at the scene of a crime, a search of the PEDb will be made automatically to identify and eliminate from enquiries the fingerprints of officers and others attending crime scenes whose fingerprints are held on the PEDb. The search of the PEDb is for elimination purposes only and will be conducted prior to search through the main criminal and intelligence fingerprint database. It is to be noted that because of the difficulties in identifying all attendees at scenes-of-crime and in order to streamline the process, the marks are searched against the entire (individual force) PEDb and not against the profiles of individual officers or staff.

Management of the database

14. The responsibility for management and security of the PEDb rests with the force fingerprint bureau on behalf of the Chief Officer. Each officer, support staff or worker is identified by a unique reference number - the ‘Police Worker Reference Number’. The composition of this number includes the force code, type of record (officer/special/support), and unique identifier. This enables NAFIS to place the record in the correct part of the local database and restricts access to the record to fingerprint staff from that force only.

15. There is a need for satisfactory audit trails within the management of the database and these are built into the system. A record of identifications made on the NAFIS PEDb relates to the elimination of the scenemark within the Mark Case Management. The system also creates a record of identification against the individual police officer’s or worker’s tenprint. The records provide protection for the donor and allows for analysis to identify local training needs.

Disposal of records

16. The fingerprint records of police officers, police staff and others will be removed from the PEDb as soon as such individuals leave the Police Service or, in the case of others whose roles bring them into contact with scenes-of-crime, as soon as they relinquish that role. The NAFIS PEDb software provides an automatically printed certificate which indicates clearly to the donor that the fingerprints - both electronic and hard copy - previously held on the PEDb have been destroyed.

17. Hard copies of fingerprints may be retained with the case papers where they may be required for the purposes of an impending trial or until the conclusion of any outstanding case in which the individual was involved and their fingerprints would be disclosable.

Legal considerations

18. Regulation 18 of the Police Regulations 2003 provides for the taking of fingerprints of police officers and the destruction of fingerprint records.

19. Fingerprints come within the classification of 'personal data' for the purposes of the Data Protection Act 1998. Data held on the PEDb must be processed fairly and lawfully to comply with the data protection principles set out in Schedules 2 and 3 of the Act. Legal advice is that there would be no breach of the European Convention on Human Rights if fingerprints were taken with consent.

20. The Chief Officer is the registered data owner and processor with the Information Commissioner for each local PEDb. The Chief Officer has to declare the purposes for which the information is to be held and demonstrate that the processing of the data is necessary for the administration of justice. Processing applies to the data’s retention, use, access and disclosure, and final disposal.

21. In accordance with the sixth and seventh data protection principles, the Chief Officer will process personal data in accordance with the rights of the data subject and will take appropriate steps to guard against unauthorised or unlawful processing, accidental loss or destruction of, or damage to, such personal data.

Annex B

Letter for issue to new officers: taking of fingerprints

Dear .....................................


Every member of a police force is required to have his/her fingerprints taken in accordance with Regulation 18 of Police Regulations 2003. The purpose of obtaining fingerprints is to allow for checking for innocent marks which may be left unwittingly at scenes-of-crime against the fingerprints obtained in the process of crime investigation.

Contamination can be reduced through taking sensible measures to ensure marks are not left at scenes-of-crime. However, the investigation of crime can be misled by unidentified marks left at a scene and delays in detection can ensue. It is important therefore that steps are taken to minimise contamination and delay.

Your fingerprints will be taken and kept separately on the Police Elimination Database (PEDb) and used for the purposes of elimination only. Records are also held locally by the force in hard copy format. Scenes-of-crime marks are searched routinely against all records on the PEDb.

Very exceptionally, a search of the PEDb may be conducted for other than elimination purposes. In such circumstances, the written authority of a Chief Officer will be required.

Your fingerprints and all copies and records will be destroyed immediately you leave the police force. This is subject to the retention of hard copies with case papers until the conclusion of an outstanding case or impending trial where the fingerprints may be disclosable. A new set of fingerprints will be taken on transfer to another force (other than on statutory transfer). You will be notified when the prints and records have been destroyed.

Yours sincerely

.............................

Chief Officer


I understand that my fingerprints will be taken and retained on the Police Elimination Database (PEDb) and will be used for elimination purposes only.

I understand that very exceptionally, a search of the PEDb for other than elimination purposes may be instigated on the written authority of a Chief Officer.

I understand that records and copies of my fingerprints will be destroyed when I leave the police force and that I will be notified when this has taken place. I also understand that hard copies may be retained with case papers until the conclusion of an outstanding case or impending trial where my fingerprints may be disclosable. I also understand that I shall be required to provide a new set of fingerprints on transfer to another force (other than on statutory transfer).

Signed

..................................................................

PC

Annex C

Letter for issue to Special Constables, Police Community Support Officers, other police staff and others: taking of fingerprints

Dear .....................................

I am writing to ask for your consent to take and retain your fingerprints for the purposes of elimination.

Your role/contact with the Police Service means that you may attend scenes of crime. The purpose of obtaining your fingerprints is to allow us to check for innocent marks which may be left unwittingly at scenes-of-crime against the fingerprints obtained in the process of crime investigation.

Contamination can be reduced through taking sensible measures to ensure marks are not left at scenes-of-crime. However, the investigation of crime can be misled by unidentified marks left at a scene and delays in detection can ensue. It is important that steps are taken to minimise contamination and delay.

It would therefore assist the administration of justice if you allow us to take and retain your fingerprints for elimination purposes.

The fingerprints will be kept separately on a distinct part of the Police Elimination Database (PEDb) and used for the purposes of elimination only. Scenes-of-crime marks are searched routinely against all records on the PEDb. Very exceptionally, a search of the PEDb may be conducted for other than elimination purposes. In such circumstances, the written authority of a Chief Officer will be required.

Your fingerprints and all copies and records will be destroyed immediately you leave the police force or cease your role which brings you into contact with scenes of crime. This is subject only to the retention of hard copies with case papers until the conclusion of an outstanding case or impending trial where the fingerprints may be disclosable. You will be notified when the prints and records have been destroyed.

Yours sincerely

............................
Chief Officer


I understand that my fingerprints will be taken and retained on a separate section of the Police Elimination Database (PEDb) used for police staff, Special Constables and others and will be used for elimination purposes only.

I understand that very exceptionally, a search of the PEDb for other than elimination purposes may be instigated on the written authority of a Chief Officer.

I understand that records and copies of my fingerprints will be destroyed when I leave the police force or terminate the role which brings me into contact with scenes of crime and that I will be notified of this. I also understand that hard copies may be retained with case papers until the conclusion of an outstanding case or impending trial where my fingerprints may be disclosable.

Signed
..................................................................
Special Constable/PCSO/other support staff/other

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