§ Lord Marlesfordasked Her Majesty's Government:
What access, and by what route, do the police have to the information on prison computer systems which record details of offenders currently serving custodial sentences in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland respectively.
Earl FerrersResponsibility for the subject of this Question has been delegated to the Prison Service and its Director General, Mr. Derek Lewis. The Director General has therefore responded to the Question and his letter is given below.
Letter to Lord Marlesford from the Director General of the Prison Service, Mr. Derek Lewis, dated 9 May 1994.
Lord Ferrers has asked me to reply to your recent Question about police access to prison computer systems holding information on offenders serving custodial sentences.
The police do not have direct on-line access to any information held on computer systems in prisons but they are provided with such information in printed form by established arrangements with governors.
There are also established liaison arrangements to provide information from the central system on offenders serving custodial sentences in England and Wales to which the police do not have on-line direct access.