§ Mr. Bidwellasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish in the Official Report the details of the Metropolitan Police concerning the formation and rôle of Department C11 from inception to date.
§ Dr. SummerskillThe Criminal Intelligence Branch of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Metropolitan Police, which is now part of C11, was set up in March 1960 with the rôle of16W collating, evaluating and disseminating information relating to organised crime and the more skilled and dangerous active professional criminal This is still the greater part of its present-day function; additionally, it assists other divisions and branches engaged in operations against serious crime.
The Commander C11 is also responsible for the National Central Bureau of Interpol and the Central Drugs and Illegal Immigration Intelligence Units.
§ Mr. Bidwellasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the annual cost of running Department C11 of the Metropolitan Police for each year since its inception.
§ Dr. SummerskillThe Commissioner informs me that in the current financial year the cost of C11, excluding the Central Drugs and Illegal Immigration Intelligence Units and the National Central Bureau of Interpol, is estimated to be about £800,000
The information requested for each of the earlier years is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
§ Mr. Bidwellasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what safeguards exist to prevent information on British subjects gathered by Department C11 of the Metropolitan Police from being passed via Interpol to other countries.
§ Dr SummerskillOther countries have no direct access to the records of the Metropolitan Police Relevant information from the Criminal Intelligence Branch, or other records, about particular criminals or crimes may be supplied to the police in other countries which are members of the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) through the National Central Bureau at New Scotland Yard where the staff concerned consider this is justified to assist operations against crime This reciprocal exchange of information facilitates operations against such major crimes as drug trafficking, forgery, fraud and trafficking in stolen vehicles and airline tickets.
§ Mr. Bidwellasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if information gathered by Department C11 of 17W the Metropolitan Police is placed on computer or linked with information obtained by the Drug Intelligence Unit, Immigration Intelligence Unit and the Special Branch.
§ Dr. SummerskillInformation about crime, criminals and their associates is not at present held on a computer, but, as the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis stated on page 15 of his report for 1976 (Cmnd. 6821), such information is being transferred to a separate new computer system in New Scotland Yard, which will not be linked to or associated with any other computer system.
The Criminal Intelligence Branch liaises with the Central Drugs and Illegal Immigration Intelligence Units, with Special Branch and with other forces from whom intelligence can be obtained as and when necessary.