Pre-charge bail (PCB) and Release Under Investigation (RUI)

Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.22.024008

I note you seek access to the following information:

1 - Could you explain what the 'weeding' process from PNC would entail, including details such as timeframes, criteria and procedures, as well as any relevant legislation.

2 - If a suspect who is wanted without warrant is believed to be abroad, what are the measures available to MPS to locate and bring them back to the UK eg. extradition warrant, global & EU Interpol alerts etc.? In particular, would this be any different from procedures taken against those wanted on a 'court warrant' as described in your initial response, for suspects who have been released under investigation but then fled justice.

3 - In other words, for individuals who have breached/skipped police bail, even though domestically UK police still have the power to arrest them, would the lack of a UK arrest warrant affect the police's ability to seek help from international partners if they are abroad?

I would be happy for the questions above to be filed either as a new request, or as a follow up, as you deem appropriate.

Decision

I have today decided to disclose the located information to you in full.

Please find below information pursuant to your request above.

Q1 - Could you explain what the 'weeding' process from PNC would entail, including details such as timeframes, criteria and procedures, as well as any relevant legislation.

From a PNC perspective there were different types of ‘weeding’ with regards to arrest/ conviction events, whereas a ‘wanted’ type of report has an initial retention period.

1(a)
Prior to 12/12/2005, arrest conviction events were dealt with the ‘Weeding of Criminal Records’ guidance. This guidance allowed the weeding of records or events either manually or automatically, if certain criteria was met. The process was as follows:
1) A stand-alone caution on a record would be automatically deleted from PNC if there was a five year clear period.
2) A reprimand/warning on a record would be automatically deleted from PNC if there was a five year clear period or the individual reached the age of 18, whichever was the longest.
3) A conviction for a minor offence would be eligible for weeding after a ten year clear period.
4) Two convictions would also require a ten year clear period.
5) Three convictions or more would not be weeded.
6) If a period of 6 months imprisonment was imposed or the offence was classed as serious it would not be weeded.
7) A not guilty adjudication or NFA would cause the event to be removed from PNC 42 days after being resulted.

Since 12/12/2002, no record with arrest/conviction events are removed from PNC. The only exception is if the arrest has been referred as an exceptional case which may, after full investigation, find incorrect processes being followed, would then authorise the deletion. An arrest for a non-recordable offence only would not be placed on PNC. If it was, upon resulting, it would be removed from the system after 42 days.

1(b)
Operational Information reports are classed as two distinct categories on PNC. One for court orders and the other for police-type intelligence reports. The weed date for these are set on creation, i.e., when the court order is no longer in force. Once these dates are reached, PNC will then automatically delete the information.

1(c)
‘Wanted’ type reports are placed on PNC and the system itself assigns a three-year weed date, e.g., on a report added on 06/5/2022, the initial retention period would be set to 05/5/2025. The report will remain on PNC until this date, unless it is deleted earlier by either being arrested/detained, no longer wanted, warrant withdrawn, etc. However, this end date can be manually changed to ensure the report is not deleted prior to enforcement taking place.

PNC sends a Daily Activity File (DAF) report 6 weeks prior to the automatic deletion so that remedial action can be taken to either remove or extend the life of the report. Although the report may expire on 05/5/2025, PNC itself will not delete until the 18th of a month, again, to allow time to extend. If no action to extend the report is taken by then, PNC will automatically delete the said report on the 18th. Being wanted for murder though, would not trigger a three-year retention period, but an indefinite one.

Prior to Brexit on 31/12/2020, our wanted reports would also have been circulated to the Schengen member states via the Schengen Information System (SIS). Since Brexit, this avenue has not been available, so we now utilise an INTERPOL diffusion notice. It is important that both retention periods on both systems are in tandem.

Q2 - If a suspect who is wanted without warrant is believed to be abroad, what are the measures available to MPS to locate and bring them back to the UK eg. extradition warrant, global & EU Interpol alerts etc.? In particular, would this be any different from procedures taken against those wanted on a 'court warrant' as described in your initial response, for suspects who have been released under investigation but then fled justice.

To locate persons of interest to the UK who are believed to be abroad, the MPS follows the College of Policing guidance:
International | College of Policing

The details requested are already in the public domain. I have therefore signposted them below and highlighted the relevant sections from the link above, for your easy reference:
• Interpol
• Police Intelligence
• Mutual Legal Assistance
• Extraditions to the UK

All extradition warrants are authorised by the CPS – and I have also included a link below to their website:
CPS - legal guidance on extradition

If there is no warrant issued, police are still able to cooperate with international partners to locate the subject. Albeit that it would still require Extradition Warrant to return them to the UK.

Q3 - In other words, for individuals who have breached/skipped police bail, even though domestically UK police still have the power to arrest them, would the lack of a UK arrest warrant affect the police's ability to seek help from international partners if they are abroad?

Whether or not a UK arrest warrant has been issued, if a person wanted in the UK was abroad, help could be sought from our international partners, utilising Interpol and MLA’s (Mutual Legal Assistance) as detailed in the link above.