UK NEWS

WORLD CRIME DATABASE PROPOSED

Tuesday January 15,2008

By Julia White for express.co.uk

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SENIOR police officers are discussing plans to create an international criminal database that could hold biometric data, the Home Office confirmed today.

An FBI plan for a “Server in the Sky” - which might hold iris, palm prints and other personal biological information - is being discussed to help fight terrorism around the world.

The network could hold information from millions of criminal suspects pooled by the US, the UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand, the paper said.

The plan is likely to raise concerns about data security in the wake of a series of embarrassing data loss blunders by the Government and its agencies.

The Home Office confirmed the existence of “Server in the Sky” but stressed discussions were at a very early stage.

A spokesman said: “We are aware of the proposed project. As you would expect we consider a wide range of initiatives as we constantly look to enhance our investigative capabilities.

“Relevant safeguards are always considered as part of this process.”

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police confirmed it was in discussions with the FBI but emphasised the plans were at a preliminary stage.

The FBI told the Guardian the database would include details of major criminals such as international terrorists.

A spokesman said: “Server in the Sky is an FBI initiative designed to foster the advanced search and exchange of biometric information on a global scale.

“While it is currently in the concept and design stages, once complete it will provide a technical forum for member nations to submit biometric search requests to other nations.

“It will maintain a core holding of the world’s ’worst of the worst’ individuals. Any identifications of these people will be sent as a priority message to the requesting nation.”

Britain’s National Policing Improvement Agency is taking a key role in the development of the plan because it manages IDENT1, a database of seven million fingerprints and other biometric information, the paper reported.