CrimTrac

The CrimTrac Agency was established in July 2000 to facilitate data and information sharing within the Australian policing environment via new and existing information systems. The four initial systems were the National Criminal Investigation DNA Database (NCIDD), the National Automated Fingerprint Identification System (NAFIS), the National Police Reference System (NPRS) and the Australian National Child Offender Register (ANCOR). Other systems provide access to information associated with vehicles and firearm, a number-to-name-search telephone directory functions and criminal history record checking services.[1]

CrimTrac was established to modernise the IT systems created by the National Exchange of Policing Information (NEPI) formed in 1990 and to add new systems required by Australian police to meet changing national law enforcement needs. These include biometric identification of persons of interest via fingerprints and DNA, and other policing information. Fifty million dollars was provided by the Federal government following the 1998 election, and procedural and administrative work commenced to create CrimTrac and transition the NEPI systems over. An Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) signed by Federal, State and Territory law enforcement ministers in July 2000 has underpinned the agency's endeavours.

CrimTrac commenced as a small national agency located in the national capital - Canberra, and staffed by Australian Public Servants. Police specialists and contractors assist where necessary. It has required strong cooperation from all police services, particularly on Information and Communications Technology (ICT). Even with the advantage of an IGA, CrimTrac's startup, growth and management in the first five years was challenging as it addressed its NEPI legacy whilst scoping new IT systems to deliver better shared policing information. Those years required sustained effort by the staff of CrimTrac and by its Board of Management, drawn from the IGA parties, at Police Commissioner level. CrimTrac continues to face challenges as a result of Australia's federational style of government, which has produced nine different sets of criminal legislation and nine individual police systems that must communicate to allow the centralisation of policing information. The national DNA database took eight years to become fully functional because of minor differences in Commonwealth, state and territory legislation.

While Australian police services and law enforcement agencies need and want better information systems to support officers on the beat, they do not wish these systems to necessarily replace their existing systems. Their systems are at differing levels of sophistication and evolution on different computing platforms, architectures and types and formats of information stored. They have been built and had evolved to suit jurisdictional, not national requirements.

To achieve optimal outcomes from its new or improved national IT systems, CrimTrac has worked hard for a new and better culture of information sharing between police services. Regular and informative liaison characterises CrimTrac's modus operandi with police and strong arguments accompany all CrimTrac business cases where police services may be asked to contribute or share information. The impact of the Commonwealth Privacy Act 1988 is also taken into account through the requirement for all new projects that involve the national sharing of sometimes sensitive and usually confidential personal information to prepare a privacy impact assessment.

Improving legacy IT systems or building new ones understandably has involved controversy as existing state and territory-based policing information systems were scrutinised by CrimTrac in order to establish "best of breed" designs, to analyse better information-sharing practices for national adoption and to persuade police jurisdictions to use new CrimTrac systems. In the almost eight years since CrimTrac was established, distrust and controversy has been replaced by support and cooperation from all the partner police services.

Biometrics

CrimTrac's NCIDD and NAFIS systems provide police agencies with biometric matching capabilities that assist the police with identity management and to resolve crime.

NAFIS includes the world's largest palm print database (currently containing 10 million palmprints). Over one hundred livescan units have been rolled out across the country.

NCIDD was developed in-house, as a rapid and highly accurate means of comparing DNA profile information submitted to CrimTrac by the forensic laboratories supporting Australian police. The Commonwealth, state and territory police services participate in DNA matching through this database.

As well as their ongoing day to day value to Australian police, the international value of these systems was proven following the Bali bombings in 2002 and the Australian response to the Thailand tsunami of 2004.

ANPR

CrimTrac was tasked in July 2007 with a scoping study to identify an approach to integrate ANPR technology for vehicle tracking on the road network of Australia. ^[1]. The ANPR Scoping Study will be submitted to the CrimTrac Board and then Australian Police Ministers in late 2008.

Strategic Plan 2007-2010: Vision Statement 2008

The CrimTrac Board has endorsed a move to a more ambitious programme of work and new vision in the latest CrimTrac Strategic Plan. The Vision is: CrimTrac will take a leadership role in generating national approaches to information sharing solutions for law enforcement agencies, for a safer Australia. In addition to projects currently underway to improve the National Criminal History Record Checking service potential new areas of work may include enhancing the NPRS and biometric systems to assist in the identification of missing persons, familial matching, national case management, continuous criminal history checking and a national approach to facial recognition.

CrimTrac Accredited Agencies

In Australia, individuals may obtain a national criminal history check on themselves.

For example, a person may be required to present a Certificate as part of employment screening, as a pre-requisite for volunteer work, as preparation for a court appearance, to apply for a visa to enter/stay in some countries, or to satisfy a statutory requirement.

Individuals can obtain a a national criminal history check in two ways:

1.Their local police service.

2.A CrimTrac-accredited “broker” e.g. commercial background checking service provider authorised to conduct national criminal history checks for and on behalf of its customer. The CrimTrac website has a list of Agencies that are CrimTrac accredited broker (i.e. Health Outcomes International Pty Ltd (Trading as National Crime Check) which is an Adelaide based CrimTrac accredited agency that services both businesses and indivdiuals.

References

http://www.crimtrac.gov.au/criminal_history_checks/IndividualChecks.html

References

1. ^ "Automated Number Plate Recognition Scoping Study (ANPR)". Australian Attorney-General's Department. July 2007. http://www.ag.gov.au/agd/WWW/ncphome.nsf/Page/POCA_funding_for_Non-Government_Agencies. Retrieved 2007-09-12. 

External links

• CrimTrac