The headline doesn’t scan as well as the original Bob Marley lyric, but that jarring dischord is nothing compared to the problems with the PNC (Police National Computer) in the UK.

A review is underway of the processes used to update the PNC database across the UK covering the “national process and practice for withdrawing warrants, involving courts, the police, and the crown prosecution service”. The review is also extending into Magistrate Courts (lower level ‘district’ courts in England and Wales) due to “differing practices” which may require procedures to be clarified.

At the heart of the issue is the withdrawal of warrants for thousands of defendants who never turned up for their court dates and have escaped justice because no warrants were issued for their arrest, no police pursued them and their ‘failure to appear’ wasn’t logged on the PNC. The power to withdraw a warrant rests (or should rest) with judges only…

Regular visitors to this site will recall the IQ Trainwreck that emerged about the DNA database in the UK a while ago… oh dear.