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EU: Interpol strikes back

01 March 1996

The debate over the Europol Convention has tended to deflect attention from a new European-wide computer database which is already up and running. The Interpol system known as the Automated Search Facility (ASF) in Lyon, France currently holds 6,000 notices of wanted persons and a nominal database with more than 120,000 records. Through Interpol's London office direct links are now being set up for UK police forces to search and download information. One of the first to use ASF is the Sussex police force which covers Gatwick airport: "Tens of thousands of people flow through the airport daily, and it is a very arduous task keeping track of undesirable elements." Previously each check meant making a phone call to Interpol London, now the Lyon's database can be directly consulted. The system currently only allows access to names and (wanted) notices but this is soon to be extended to: stolen vehicles, arts and antiques, counterfeit currency, stolen passports and identity documents, images and fingerprints. Sussex police say the new link means they are working more closely with Customs and Immigration officials. The ASF Stolen Vehicle Database is expected to grow massively through X.400 communications systems which will allow police forces throughout Europe to search and download details of stolen vehicles and to load data from each country. Interpol London is also setting up access for UK police forces to allow them to interrogate the National Crime Information Centre computer in Washington. The link with the NCIC database allows direct searching and automated response to the US property index, stolen vehicle identification numbers, boat hull and stolen aircraft numbers. The link can easily be extended to other databases held at the NCIC if the US Congress agrees. PNN Net News, February 1996.