AC1.2
Intelligence databases
Intelligence refers to information that has been collected from multiple sources, such as confidential sources
that has been recorded and evaluated and can be stored in many different databases that can be accessed by
the police. These include:
The Police National Database which contains intelligence about suspected criminal activity that holds
over 3.5 billion searchable records and it is made up of 220 linked databases.
The Police National Computer (PNC) that has many different databases and contains details of over 12
million of people’s arrests, convictions and cautions and it also links to biometric databases for finger
prints and the National DNA Database. The also hold vehicle registration information on 48 million
people who hold a driving licence. It also includes those who have been disqualified from driving.
Missing and wanted people are also included on the PNC.
Crimint that holds information on criminals, suspects and protestors and the Gangs Matrix that has
information on suspected gang members.
International Databases that are accessible to the police and they share information to police forces
in different countries. Such databases include the INTERPOL database on child sexual exploitation,
biometric records, stolen property, firearms and organised crime networks.
Strengths
One strength of intelligence databases is that they allow the police to have easy access to information on
people who already have criminal records. This is helpful because if they have someone who is already on the
database then their DNA will also be stored which they can use to see if it matches the DNA found at the crime
scene and this would save a lot of police time and money. Another strength is people in the same family will
have very similar DNA and if one member of that family is on the database and the DNA from a crime scene is
similar to someone’s DNA on the database then they can see if it matches that person’s family member. This is
shown in the case of Colette Aram who was murdered in 1983 and the killer was never caught but in 2008, a
young man named Jean Paul Hutchinson was arrested on a motoring charge and DNA swabs were taken to put
into the database and it flagged up on the database that his DNA was similar to the DNA found on Aram’s body
but it was not his as he was not born at the time of the murder so they took DNA swabs from his father, Paul
Hutchinson, and his DNA was a match and he pleaded guilty to the murder.
Limitations
One limitation of intelligence databases is there have been accusations against the Gangs Matrix for being
racially discriminatory and in 2021 the Met Police had to remove over 1000 young black men from the
database as they had been put on there purely because they were black. Another limitation is that it is subject
to leak information as in 2017, the names and address of 203 alleged gang members were leaked and had
been discovered by the gang’s rivals.
Types of crimes
Intelligence databases can be used for most types of crimes, but they are more useful in violent crimes, such as
murder and rape because these databases contain the DNA of previously prosecuted criminals, so they can be
used to see if DNA from the crime scene matches anybody who is on the database, which will help save time
and resources. They would also be helpful in property crimes such as theft as if someone breaks into a
property then they may leave traces of DNA which can also be matched to DNA on the database. Intelligence
databases would only be partially useful in e crimes as they could establish whether a suspect of e crime has
had any previous convictions to do with e crime.
Situations
Intelligence databases would be more effectively used at a police station, as they rely on a strong internet
connection which may not be available if the crime scene is at a remote location, and thorough searches would
not be possible. They would have very limited use in a laboratory and would only be used to gain a person’s
DNA if they were on the database to compare it to DNA found at the crime scene.
, Forensic Techniques
Forensics are scientific techniques that help assist in criminal investigations where evidence from a crime
scene is recorded and analysed. The different types of evidence includes bodily fluids and material such as
blood, semen, sweat etc and it also includes fingerprints, shoe prints, weapons, paint flakes and many more.
Crime scenes must be controlled and investigators must wear protective clothing to ensure evidence doesn’t
become contaminated. Forensic scientists will then examine it at a lab to look for things like DNA and their
findings will be shared with the police. One thing forensics usually examine is mainly DNA. Everybody has their
own unique DNA, apart from identical twins, and DNA extraction and analysis has become more advance in
recent years which has made DNA profiling the most important development in solving serious crimes since
fingerprinting was invented. Using relatives DNA profiling has also been known to help with criminal
investigations as blood relatives share similar DNA profiles which can help identify suspects and perpetrators.
This method has also been helpful in identifying deceased victims of homicides, suicides and accidents.
Strengths
One strength of forensic techniques is that forensic scientists have the expertise to be able to link someone to
the evidence found at a crime scene. For example, a perpetrator will almost always leave some sort of
evidence whether it be DNA, clothing fibres, shoe prints etc and if it is analysed carefully then it can be traced
back to the perpetrator, especially if the perpetrator is on a police database as their DNA will be stored on it.
Another strength of forensic techniques is that due to extraordinary advances in forensic technology, animal
DNA is now able to be analysed if any animal DNA, such as fur, feathers, saliva etc, has been extracted from
the crime scene. This is shown in the case if Brian Keating who had been kidnapped, murdered and dumped in
a church yard. Keating had numerous strands of dog fur on his body and it later transpired to be dog fur from
Daniel McGowen’s dog, one of the men involved in the murder, but the police needed forensic proof that the
fur found on Keating’s body belonged to McGowen’s dog . The police were able to extract the dog fur from
Keating’s body but needed a control sample from the dog. McGowen sold the dog in an attempt to get rid of
everything that would link him to the murder, but the police tracked the dog down to an address in Scotland
and managed to get the DNA they needed. Although they were unable to get statistical DNA analysis in the UK,
they managed to find someone in California who could so they flew over to make the analysis. They managed
to get a forensic link with the chances of it being another dog being 1 in 484 million.
Limitations
However, one issue we have with forensic techniques and DNA evidence is that if a crime scene is not strictly
controlled, for example if it is not cordoned off by the police or personnel don’t wear the correct equipment,
then evidence can become easily contaminated which could lead to the evidence being deemed as admissible
in court or even worse, lead to a miscarriage of justice, where an innocent person is convicted of a crime they
did not commit or a guilty person let free. Another problem we face with forensic techniques is there have
been concerns of civil liberties being breached by the police having records of DNA data taken from people
who had been charged of a crime but not convicted which is shown in S & Marper v UK (2008) where the two
claimants (one was arrested and charged with armed robbery and the other harassment of his partner) had
been charged of crimes and had finger prints and DNA taken but they were later acquitted and they later
complained under Articles 8 & 14 of ECHR that the police had continued to hold their DNA after their acquittals
and a judgement found that there was breach of Article 8 and each was awarded 42,000 euros but there was
no breach of Article 14. The law was later changed in 2012 which required most DNA profiles to be destroyed
after 6 months of a person’s acquittal.
Types of crimes
Forensic techniques are mainly used in violent crimes such as murder and rape. This is because these are the
crimes where DNA and other evidence is going to be left by the perpetrators (blood and clothing fibres) which
can then be extracted, examined and analysed by forensic scientists to find any links to potential suspects.
Similarly, they can be used in property crimes, such as burglary, as perpetrators also leave behind DNA and
evidence which also helps link suspects to a crime scene. They would, however, be deemed as unhelpful for e
crimes because DNA and other evidence, that a forensic scientist could analyse, would not be left by a
perpetrator.
Situations
