Court database tracks down missing offenders

Magistrates' courts across England and Wales are getting electronic access to one of the country's largest databases to track down offenders who ignore fines and other court penalties.

Court staff will be able to discover the whereabouts of missing offenders who have changed address without notifying the courts by accessing the Department for Work and Pensions' (DWP) electronic Customer Information System (CIS).

The database holds records on about 85 million people, including defaulters who have moved abroad or died, but magistrates' courts will only be able to access basic personal details such as name, address, date of birth and national insurance number.

The CIS is also linked to Inland Revenue's databases and includes records on people in employment or receiving Child Tax or Working Families Credit, or state benefits and pensions.

Constitutional affairs minister Harriet Harman said: "One of the problems with fines enforcement is that it's difficult to get up-to-date information on where criminals are staying so it's hard for magistrates' courts to track them down quickly.

"But the courts will soon have access to a whole lot of information that they can't get any other way. This means they can catch up with offenders who have moved house and refuse to obey the court much more quickly and easily."

Magistrates' courts in Cleveland and Leicestershire will be the first to have read-only access to the DWP database next week. A national rollout is due to be completed by mid-September, with court staff expected to make up to 340,000 enquiries each year.

Last November Magistrates' courts were given access to the database of credit reference agency Equifax, also to help track down offenders.

More than 95 per cent of criminal cases begin and end in magistrates' courts.