Job Purpose of the PNC Bureau 24/7 Team
To provide a Police National Computer (PNC) support service to the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) and all authorised outside agencies with a specialist interest.
To ensure that information is promptly and accurately updated on PNC in accordance with Home Office and Police Service guidelines, the PNC User Manual, METSEC, Recall Joint National Protocol, Data Protection Act and the Computer Misuse Act.
To provide a back up service to Metropolitan Police officers in the event that PNC is unavailable to Basic Command Units (BCUs).
Enter Crown and Magistrates’ court results and bail conditions on PNC from the Bichard 7 Portal and Xhibit mailboxes.
To create and cancel Home Office orders made in respect of subjects who are in breach of parole / licence conditions and are recalled to prison.
Completion of daily, weekly and monthly audit processes.
Accurately provide individual record of work statistics every shift and maintain a satisfactory level of output.
Key Areas
The PNC Bureau (PNCB) has responsibility for maintaining PNC records and accurately updating PNC on behalf of the MPS once custody records have been closed on NSPIS. PNC is an active investigative tool and is relied upon for police investigations, operational use, sentencing and vetting.
The PNC service is maintained 24/7 throughout the year by PNCB.
The post holder is required to have an appreciation of other departments’ work as well as the role of the PNCB. This is to ensure that when officers call with updates, explanations can be offered and guidance given where officers may be unaware of the impact of their actions if procedures are not followed correctly. As members of staff are accountable for the information they update on PNC, accuracy is important. Actions undertaken may result in the individual justifying his / her actions in cases such as where there is a wrongful arrest and where officers have relied on information supplied by the PNCB.
Members of the 24/7 Teams are required to demonstrate that they are able to operate PNC updating and searching processes. The individual continues to receive ‘in house’ training until such time it is felt that the person is proficient.
Due to the unpredictable nature of operational policing there will be competing demands on the Bureau, all of which are required to be dealt with in accordance with the priority set for each task, regardless of staffing levels, in what is often a pressurised environment. There is therefore a constant need to prioritise and re-prioritise tasks, taking in to account that all work in the Bureau is time-sensitive to varying degrees and that all calls must be dealt with. Job Description
Post holders within the PNC 24-7 Teams research and supply information from MPS and other IT systems as required by statute or policy. 24-7 Teams also receive enquiries and updates by telephone and email.
The PNC 24-7 Teams are expected to process information received from a variety of sources, including police colleagues both within the MPS and nationally, and update PNC in a timely and accurate manner.
Post holders will seek to continually improve service performance through day to day problem solving and actively participating in improvement projects.
Arrest / Summons Updating
The ability to create and update such reports is a function where PNC has not been updated through NSPIS failure, or as part of business continuity.
Updating the PNC records with further offences and methods, warning signals, information markers, internal cross references and regional cross references, alias names, nicknames, alias dates of birth, description, marks and scars, addresses, places frequented, known associates, local references, police circulations, officers with knowledge, passport and identity numbers, occupations, characteristics (jewellery, mannerisms, clothing, etc.), organisations involved with, licence and bail conditions, etc.
NSPIS Business Objects
Business objects reports are generated by NSPIS showing where arrest / summons reports need to be created by PNCB on PNC in the event of full failure of the transaction from NSPIS Custody to PNC, or where there is a partial failure indicating that data quality is to be reviewed. Other reports are generated where a custody record is in potential failure but where the PNCB can identify and intercede with Boroughs prior to PNC update.
The post holder will obtain data and take action on these reports, ensuring conformity of action in respect of procedural guidelines that action is taken as appropriate and that data quality is maintained as far as possible.
Wanted / Missing Creations
Wanted subjects are circulated on PNC which are received via mailboxes. Some of these are category A warrants issued by the courts and require immediate attention. When updating a wanted subject on PNC the PNC operator must interrogate the system thoroughly and establish that the information is going on to the correct record. A mistake by either the police officer or the post holder may lead to a wrongful arrest.
Missing persons are circulated on PNC via mailbox and fall into the following categories: Missing persons (Mispers) Juveniles from care (Abscares) Absconders detained under the Mental Health Act (Mentabs) Absconders from prison (Penabs) Persons / bodies found whose identity is known Wanted / Missing Cancellations
Cancellations of wanted persons are carried out after receipt of a phone call and / or email. Detained reports are also created to cover other police services and authorised agencies when arrested within the MPS. Problems arising from this procedure are dealt with by phone calls to the PNC Bureau.
Cancellations of detained reports which are sent to PNCB via broadcast from other police services for subjects wanted by the MPS are then updated onto PNC.
Cancellation Of Mispers, Abscares, Mentabs, Penabs, Etc., Received By Email.
The prompt removal of a missing person, so that no cancelled missing person is offered as a potential match to an unidentified subject or body. Failure to do this may lead to unnecessary distress caused to the families concerned.
Pivotal is timely and accurate maintenance of the integrity of the names file and communication skills when dealing with other police services.
Good data management is imperative as incorrect information left on PNC may lead to the wrongful arrest / detention of a subject.
Subjects Of High Court Orders
The PNC 24/7 Teams deals with two different types of High Court Order.
Collection Orders
In a situation where a child has been taken either in the United Kingdom or any other part of the world a High Court can issue a collection order. Once the child is located they are physically returned to the high court with parent / guardian along with any necessary travel documents i.e.: passports, visas, etc.
Location Orders
In a situation where a child has been taken either in the United Kingdom or any other part of the world a High Court can issue a location order. Once the child is located the High Court is informed of the whereabouts, travel documents are confiscated and delivered to the High Court.
Investigative skills are needed to ensure the prevention of a possible abduction of a child and possible escape from to another country. There are three points of exit from the United Kingdom: by air, sea and train. On receipt of a Ward of Court Order, High Court officers require an immediate response.
The PNC 24/7 Teams have responsibility on behalf of the High Court Tipstaff to circulate and cancel minors who are subject of a High Court Order on PNC.
From the receipt of the High Court location order until the eventual cancellation of it, accuracy, accountability and speed are paramount. Names File Enquiries
The PNC 24/7 Teams provide a twenty four hour facility to Specialist Operations Departments, a selection of outside agencies (CCRIO Military Police), RSPCA, HM Immigration, Customs and Excise, NCIS, NCS etc) as well as support to operational officers and staff on both MPS BCUs and nationally with respect to prison licences and recalls. Information is usually supplied over the telephone following interrogation of the PNC.
All members of staff are required to establish the identity of the caller before any information is passed over a secure line. We have protocols in place with passwords that change on a monthly basis. These have been set up for the National Crime Squads, Surveillance teams, Specialist Operations and other outside Agencies that require PNC access during and outside of normal office hours. If at any stage the identity of the caller is in doubt members of staff refuse to pass information on. The home police service or unit is contacted and further security checks are completed.
PNC holds a huge quantity of information and postholders need to interrogate the system with confidence.
Broadcast Facility
Members of staff will at some point during the working day have a requirement to use the broadcast facility either forwarding fingerprint messages, information or dealing with cancellations of wanted subjects.
Fingerprint messages are dealt with in a timely manner as they can affect the outcome of a court case. The messages themselves contain information for JPS staff confirming a subject’s correct identification so that the right information is before officers, legal representatives and the court.
All UK police services have broadcast capabilities which are a proven method of communication for varying types of requests, reports and other information. The security services are also able to liaise with the MPS via this facility.
The PNC 24/7 Teams undertake the onward transmission to all police services in the UK. Other types of broadcast include ports warnings, murder enquiries, vulnerable missing persons, unidentified bodies, movement of the Royal Train, terrorist threats, category A prisoner movements and any other broadcast deemed necessary.
Missing Persons Reports
Missing persons include persons taken to hospital, sudden deaths and attempted suicides. Information on persons reported missing comes into the Bureau by way of MERLIN reports via a dedicated mailbox 24/7. These are updated within 2 hours onto the PNC names file. Funded Functions
Prison Recalls
Emails are received via a dedicated mailbox from the National Offenders Management Service, Public Protection Casework Section (PPCS) of subjects who have been released from prison on parole and who are in breach of the conditions of their licence. They are recalled back to prison and relevant details are updated onto PNC.
A wanted / missing (WM) report is placed on PNC and an Emerald Warrant Management System (EWMS) record is created simultaneously.
Within the MPS the EWMS record is used as a tasking tool to assist in the timely apprehension of the offender and hold MPS Boroughs to account in the management of recalls.
Nationally, EWMS is used to maintain a quality assurance audit in conjunction with the PPCS.
Within the recall function is the circulation on PNC of a subject wanted on a recall. The cancellation of the same received via either a phone call from officers nationally, or email received from PPCS as a return to custody email.
PNC is updated, the WM marker removed and the Custody History updated. The EWMS record is also updated and executed as finalised.
A weekly list is generated from various sources which completes a comparison of records cancelled on PNC against those shown as returned to HMP on the PINS system. This is sent to PPCS to compare against their system, they return it and any actions are updated.
A monthly unlawfully at large (UAL) audit is sent to PNCB from PPCS each month for checking against PNC and is returned after actioning.
Prison Licences
Prison licences of various types, are received into several mailboxes and updated during less busy periods. The target is for licences to be updated onto PNC by the end of the week in which they were received.