§ Mr. Gouldasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what type of information concerning British citizens is passed by British police forces to Interpol and what opportunity individual citizens have to check the accuracy of such information.
§ Dr. SummerskillI am informed by the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that the type of information generally transmitted to Interpol by British police forces relates to the criminal records of persons convicted in this country, who may or may not be British subjects.
There is no right for convicted persons to inspect these records, which are used mainly for police purposes in this country, and similarly there is no right for them to inspect the same records when information is transmitted to Interpol.
There are other situations in which information can properly be sent to or be requested from Interpol—for instance, concerning missing persons, the identification of dead bodies and stolen property but no exhaustive list can be produced, and the total of all these other categories forms only a minor part of the information provided compared with the supply of information related to criminal records.
§ Mr. Gouldasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department under what agreement the United Kingdom has become a member of Interpol.
§ Dr. SummerskillThe International Criminal Police Commission was set up in 1923. The United Kingdom, after sending an observer in 1927, was first represented at the commission's annual conference in 1928 and contributed to the commission's expenses from 1930 until the war. United Kingdom membership was resumed when the commission was re-established after the war and maintained when the organisation adopted its present title of the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) and constitution in 1956.
§ Mr. Gouldasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people are employed in the British National Central Bureau of Interpol: and under whose control it operates.
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§ Dr. SummerskillI am informed that 18 police officers and 14 civilian staff are employed in the British National Central Bureau of Interpol which operates under the control of the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis.