Police Division
T: 0131-244-5229 F: 0131-244-2666
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John Anderson
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Our ref:FOI/09/01396
20th October 2009
Dear Mr Anderson
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REFERENCE NUMBER FOI/09/01396
Thank you for your e-mail dated 5 October 2009 in which you requested information on the procedures in place to share information from the PNC and criminal conviction information held by Scottish Police forces, with the United States authorities.
You specifically asked if the US Embassy in London or US Homeland Security have access to criminal conviction information of individuals travelling to the US. Furthermore your e-mail asks how US authorities have the ability to check whether an individual from the UK has a criminal record. A presumption appears to have been made that agreements are in place between the US authorities and the Scottish Government for the sharing of such information.
Whilst policing is a devolved responsibility, the matter of national security is reserved to Whitehall. Accordingly the Scottish Government does not hold a copy of any agreement by which information from the PNC or CHS is to be shared with the US authorities.
The Scottish Government understands that the US authorities do not have direct access to the PNC or to the Criminal History System (CHS), which is the Scottish database for the storage of criminal conviction data. For policing purposes however, criminal conviction information could be made available to US authorities in response to individual requests via Interpol channels.
The questions raised by you appear very similar in content to questions previously posed via the ‘Whatdotheyknow’ website. The Home Office response is already in the public domain and can be accessed via the following link which you may find of interest.
You may alternatively wish to contact the Home Office directly concerning this matter. The Home Office website is
If you are unhappy with this response to your request, you may ask us to carry out an internal review, by writing to:
Director-General Justice & Communities
Floor 1 W.11
St Andrew’s House
Regent Road
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG
Your request should explain why you wish a review to be carried out and should be made within 40 working days of receipt of this letter. We will in turn reply within 20 working days of receipt. If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to make a formal complaint to the Scottish Information Commissioner.
Yours sincerely
Kevin Cassidy
Police Powers & Public Protection Unit
Scottish Government
Police & Community Safety Directorate
Police Division
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