obtaining criminal record histories from european union...
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Obtaining Criminal Record Histories from
European Union Member States
This document was produced and released by the UK Central Authority for the Exchange of Criminal Records.
The UK Central Authority for the Exchange of Criminal Records (UKCA-ECR) was established in 2006 under an EU Framework De-cision. Funded by the Home Of-fice and managed by the ACPO Criminal Records Office (ACRO), it receives notifications of convic-tions of UK nationals in other EU Member States. It also notifies relevant EU Member States of any convictions of EU nationals in the UK. This work is vital, as it can re-veal a hidden picture of UK nation-als’ serious offending in EU coun-tries. As a bi-product it has also strengthened links between UK and EU Police. The UKCA-ECR receives and responds to requests from all UK Police Forces and other law en-forcement agencies for extracts of criminal records of nationals from other EU Member States. It also processes requests received from other EU Member States for criminal records of UK nationals. In doing this, the UKCA-ECR has been required to build a translation bu-reau to deal with the interpretation of conviction notifications in the re-spective languages. The work of the UKCA-ECR has highlighted several important cases which emphasise the importance of exchanging con-viction information within the EU.
The UKCA – ECR provides all other EU Member States with a central point of contact, within the UK. This ensures a simple, standard and timely approach to both outgoing and incoming exchanges and que-ries. The process also ensures that Scottish Forces and the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) receive all relevant information as soon as it is available. Scottish and Northern Irish records are identified upon receipt, based upon criteria including address information, place of birth and previ-ous offending history.
National Judicial Registers Pilot
As part of the Central Autho-rity arrangements, an EU pilot has been initiated which enables participants to electronically ex-change criminal conviction infor-mation. On 26 June 2007, fol-lowing strong support from the Home Secretary, the UK became the eleventh EU Member State to be formally accepted as a member of the pilot.The pilot has the potential to sig-nificantly improve the efficiency of conviction exchange and reduce the need for manual translation services in the exchange process.
The UK Central Authority for the Exchange of Criminal Records
The UK Central Authority for the Exchange of Criminal Records
A prime function of the UKCA-ECR is the facilitation of conviction requests on behalf of UK Police Forces and other law enforce-ment agencies.Where an individual is subject to criminal proceedings in the United Kingdom (as a suspect, defendant, victim or witness), a request can be made to countries within the European Union in order to obtain pre-vious convictions, or indeed to ascertain the absence of a police record as a result of a request. For non-UK arrestees, the UKCA-ECR will make contact with the subject’s country of nationality within the EU. This process can also be applied to British na-tionals, where there is suspicion of a pos-sible offending career outside of the UK in an EU Member State.In a region of open-borders and the preva-lence of trans-national offending, it is es-sential that officers consider the existence of convictions outside of the UK. In crimi-nal proceedings, evidence of previous con-victions from within the EU can be invalu-
able in securing an appropriate sentence, or indeed ascertaining the good character of victims and witnesses.It is critical for officers to consult the Cen-tral Authority Data Requirements Checklist before a request is sent through to the UKCA-ECR. These criteria have been set by the countries concerned and can assist in a quick and accurate reply. Information about the criteria is being forwarded to all Police Forces.The Framework Decision dictates a request turnaround of ten days. For a number of countries we can achieve a positive reply in a shorter time-frame, however, certain re-quests can extend beyond the period of ten days, whilst countries build the required in-frastructure. If the data provided to the UKCA-ECR is of a poor quality and does not meet the basic data requirements of the country concerned, there is a likelihood that the request will be rejected. On contact with the EU Central Authorities, a check will be
conducted on their national Criminal Record System. Unlike PNC, such record systems only include details of convictions and do not hold information relating to the modus operan-di (MO). If an officer requires further police intelligence re-lating to a specific conviction, they should consider making contact with the Serious Or-ganised Crime Agency (SOCA) who will be able to assist in acquiring information relating to the MO or victim details via the “Letter of Request” route. Some forces will have their own international liaison office to assist with this process.Consideration should also be given to whether fingerprints are required to confirm that the foreign convictions acquired relate to the subject who is cur-
rently undergoing criminal proceedings. The ACPO Criminal Records Office (ACRO) has negotiated an amendment to the Framework Agreement which enables fingerprint ex-change. However, there is much to be done before this facility functions properly. Until the necessary processes are implemented, requests for fingerprints can be made to SOCA. When the UKCA-ECR receives a reply from the selected Central Authority, if the re-sponse denotes ‘No Trace’ or ‘No Convic-tions’, the requesting party will be notified immediately. Where the subject has convic-tions, these are translated in-house by the UKCA-ECR and, where relevant, entered onto the national criminal record database. A copy of the conviction notification and the transla-tion document is sent to the requesting party and can be presented for court purposes.
Making Requests for EU Criminal History Records
Sex offender charged!The UKCA-ECR received a request for a criminal record check for the Czech Republic. The Metropolitan Police Service was investigating a suspect for rape of a Czech female in London. The officers confirmed that the subject was a known sex offender and believed that he may be wanted by the Czech authorities for fai-ling to undergo a sex offender treatment programme in the Czech Republic. The request to the Czech Central Authority revealed that the subject had indeed several convictions in the Czech Republic, including robbery and sexual abuse of a minor. This information was translated, entered onto the PNC and forwarded to the Metropolitan Police as soon as it had been received. As a result of the quick response from the UKCA-ECR, the officers were able to present the subject’s previ-ous criminal history to the Crown Prosecution Service and the subject was charged with 8 counts of rape, all involving extreme violence.
Data Requirement Checklist
When making a request to the UKCA-ECR, you will need to pro-vide the following details:
Name, sex, nationality, date of birth, town/ district of birth, par-ents’ names, non-UK residencies, identification numbers (Passport, ID Card details, Polish PESEL number, National Registration number, Social Security number).
Q) Can the UKCA-ECR make requests anywhere in the world?A) No. Our capacity to exchange criminal records sits within an EU Council Frame- work Decision. This allows us to exchange with EU Member States only.
Q) Are all EU Member States involved in the exchange of criminal records?A) Bulgaria and Romania are not yet set up for the exchange of requests. They are however notifying us when a UK national offends in either of these two coun- tries.
Q) Who should I liaise with for requests to the rest of the world?A) SOCA can assist you with making requests to the rest of the world. They are also the best point of contact if you require further offence details (M.O, vic- tim details) or fingerprints for identity confirmation.
Q) What information do I need to provide to the UKCA-ECR to put my re- quest through?A) Please refer to the Data Requirement Checklist on page 3 of this booklet. If we feel that there is not enough information to proceed with your request (for exam- ple name and date of birth only) we will contact you.
Q) How long will it take for me to receive a reply from the UKCA-ECR.A) The Framework Decision has set a response turnaround of 10 days. Your re- quest may take less than 10 days, however it can take longer. The UKCA-ECR will make best efforts to chase a delayed enquiry, however, once the request has been sent abroad the UKCA-ECR has limited capacity to speed up a process.
Q) Can I contact the relevant EU Central Authority direct if I am not happy with the turnaround time?A) The contact details of relevant EU Central Authorities will not be disclosed to any requesting party. The contact points in the EU Member States have been set up for a direct communication link between Central Authorities under the Framework Decision and are not intended to be used by the requesting party direct.
Q) I have knowledge that the subject of the request does have convictions abroad, but the UKCA-ECR have notified me that there is no trace of a criminal record?A) Each EU Member State has very different Weeding and Retention rules on their National Criminal Record system. A number of countries have a quick deletion policy and they may therefore no longer hold details of a conviction. SOCA should be contacted to enquire whether intelligence is held on the offence in question. Alternatively, if only limited details are provided to the UKCA-ECR, it may not be enough detail to identify an existing record. The UKCA-ECR will therefore be notified of a ‘No Trace’ or ‘No Record’ response and are not always notified if this is due to inadequate subject details. It could also be the case that the subject was arrested and no further action was taken. This information will not show on the national criminal records system.
Frequently Asked Questions
The UKCA-ECR can make requests for criminal record histories to the following countries:
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.
The UKCA-ECR can make requests for criminal record histories to the following countries:
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.
Q) If my subject does hold convictions, will I need to have these translated?A) No. The UKCA-ECR has a bank of fully qualified and vetted translators. Once the conviction notification has been translated we will send both the notifica- tion and the UKCA-ECR translated document to the requestor.
Q) My police force has its own international liaison unit. Should I route any request via this unit?A) Yes. Where forces have such a unit you are advised to use their expertise. All force international liaison units are aware of the UKCA-ECR arrangements.
Q) Given the problems with identification, why does the UKCA-ECR not ex change fingerprints?A) The advantages of doing so are recognised and the UKCA-ECR are currently nego- tiating with EU Member States to put the necessary mechanisms in place.
