Domestic Violence Protection Order on the PNC

Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.22.026026

I note you seek access to the following information:

I have contacted ACRO customer services regarding the retention of DVPO orders on the PNC, please see my email to them below:

Can you please advise on what legal basis a breach of a Domestic Violence Protection Order (DVPO) is retained on the PNC?

A DVPO and its breach are both civil proceedings; a breach of a DVPO is a non-recordable matter – namely it is not a conviction.

If you can please clarify on what basis a DVPO breach is recorded on the PNC – namely is it the case that DVPO breaches should be, and are, routinely recorded on the PNC, if so, on what basis?

ACRO’s response was as follows:

ACRO would not be responsible for entering information about a DVPO breach onto the Police National Computer (PNC). If such information has been entered onto a record it would have been done by the police force that dealt with the breach so you would need to query their basis for doing so directly with them.

I have a client who has a DVPO breach recorded on the PNC by the MPS.

Can you please clarify on what basis the MPS believe a DVPO can/should be recorded on the PNC?

It would seem to me that DVPO information should in fact form part of the local record, rather than PNC record, as it is a civil order, not criminal.

Decision

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

Please find below information pursuant to your request above.

Once issued a DVPN/O is recorded on PNC as an operational information report. DVPN 48 Hours and DVPO 14 -28 days.

Although breach of domestic violence protection order – MS80530 is not a criminal offence, it was recognised by the National PNC Names Group breaches should be recorded on PNC for policing purposes.

The following was provided by the National PNC Names Group:

‘It has been recognised that there is value in recording Breaches of Domestic Violence Protections Orders on PNC. For this reason the following offence code has been created on PNC.

MC80530 Breach of Domestic Violence Protection Order – Magistrates Court Act 1980 s.63

Although the code is technically not an offence and has a non-recordable offence code it has been agreed by the National PNC Names Group that these breaches should be recorded on PNC for a policing purpose.

The code should be only used to record Breaches of Domestic Violence Protection Orders where a term of imprisonment is imposed or it accompanies one or more recordable offences on the same Arrest/Summons.’