Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data the Police National Computer holds on the number of offences committed in the last 12 months, by where the offender was born.

The Police National Computer (PNC) is a system that provides real-time access to criminal records of offenders, vehicle data, and other information relevant to policing. The PNC retains records by individual suspects and offenders rather than by offences.

The PNC holds some information on the place of birth and in some circumstances the nationality of the individuals, but that data is not held for all convictions. It does not retain information in a format that would provide an answer on the number of offences committed in the last 12 months, by where the offender was born. In any case, the PNC is not designed to provide such bespoke reports and would need development to obtain such information.

The National Police Chiefs’ Council and the Home Office hold regular discussions about the appropriate use of this information for purposes beyond policing.