Review of police database records

Alan Johnson, in one of his first major acts as Home Secretary, has ordered a review of which criminal records are held on the police national computer (PNC) and for how long.

But he has ruled out removing serious, violent and sexual offenders, who would stay on the register.

Tens of thousands of other offenders could have their records removed if holding them is considered disproportionate to the offence committed.

The review will propose guidelines on what records should be held, for how long and for what reasons. Under current policy, records remain on the PNC for up to 100 years.

Criteria could include the extent of the penalty handed out, how long ago the offence was committed, the age of the defendant and whether or not they reoffended.

It will be carried out by a new independent adviser to be appointed by the end of the summer.

The announcement is likely to raise concerns that low level offenders could escape detection in future because the pattern of their early criminality has been erased.

The review is linked to a case before the Court of Appeal this week in which five chief constables are challenging a ruling that holding details of minor offences for long periods breaches data protection rules.

The senior officers are asking the court to overturn a ruling against them by the Information Commissioner which was upheld by an Information Tribunal. The original case was brought by individuals who committed minor offences when they were young but whose records showed up when they applied for jobs.