Crime information center
A crime information center is a government database used primarily for the purposes of law-enforcement, national security, and border control. Crime information centers operate as large-scale national databases that aggregate records from local, state, tribal, and regional jurisdictions. A crime information center mainly stores information regarding an individual's criminal history and activity and provides a pathway for that information to be disclosed nationally or internationally.[1][2] Many crime information centers are coordinated under Interpol standards, and all Interpol member states (with some varying degree of transparency) disclose their crime information center to Interpol on request.[3]
By aggregating data from numerous smaller law enforcement agencies, a national crime information center can facilitate the identification of cross-jurisdictional criminal activity, support federal and multi-state investigations, and enhance the overall coordination of law enforcement.[4] Some federal jurisdictions disclose or correspond information pertaining to their crime information center to other federal jurisdictions to ensure regional stability or to combat cross-border crime.[4]
Interpol
Interpol has the largest global criminal-information database. Interpol serves as a liaison to its 196 member countries to support investigations and cross-border police cooperation. These systems allow authorized law-enforcement officers to access real-time data on suspects, missing persons, stolen property, and biometric identifiers. Access is provided through I-24/7, INTERPOL’s secure, encrypted police communications network. I-24/7 links national central bureaus, border points, and other authorized terminals worldwide, enabling instant database checks and the rapid exchange of notices, alerts, and operational intelligence.[3]
United States
- NCIC, run by the FBI
- Real Time Crime Center, run by the NYPD
- GCIC, run by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation
Canada
The Canadian Police Information Centre is used federally
Europe
- European Criminal Records Information System, all EU member states.
- National Criminal Register in Poland
United Kingdom
Police National Computer, including Northern Ireland.
See also
References
- ^ "National Crime Information Center (NCIC) - FBI Information Systems". irp.fas.org. Retrieved 2025-11-26.
- ^ "European Criminal Records Information System (ECRIS) - European Commission". commission.europa.eu. Retrieved 2025-11-26.
- ^ a b "Databases". www.interpol.int. Retrieved 2025-11-26.
- ^ a b Chen, Hsinchun; Atabakhsh, Homa; Kaza, Siddharth; Marshall, Byron; Xu, Jennifer; Wang, G. Alan; Petersen, Tim; Violette, Chuck (2005-05-15). "BorderSafe: cross-jurisdictional information sharing, analysis, and visualization". Proceedings of the 2005 National Conference on Digital Government Research. dg.o '05. Atlanta, Georgia, USA: Digital Government Society of North America: 241–242.