The PNLD (Police National Legal Database) is an information resource which delivers criminal justice legislation together with additional explanations and guidance to assist users. PNLD is owned by and under the control of the Police and Crime Commissioner for West Yorkshire. PNLD receives no funding from central government and relies upon subscription income alone. In addition to all 43 Home Office police forces in England and Wales and the British Transport Police, PNLD’s subscribers include the Crown Prosecution Service, the Independent Police Complaints Commission and other organizations with a duty to investigate and prosecute offences
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Background
The PNLD was developed using the criminal law notes used by the Detective Training Wing of the West Yorkshire Police. By 1994 advances in IT made it possible to create a computerized 'database' of legal information, case law and national standard offence wordings which could be readily updated in line with changes in legislation. The resource was initially rolled out to a consortium of nineteen forces, before gaining accreditation as a Home Office product under the umbrella of PITO (Police Information Technology Organization). By 2001, all 43 Home Office police Forces had become subscribers.
With the growth of the policing partners including regulatory authorities, it became clear that PNLD was needed throughout the Criminal Justice sector and could be made available to these organizations via the internet. PNLD then looked to partner with a technology company which would assist them in creating an online resource, as well as helping them to develop new services. They chose to work with PDMS Limited and in 2004 an internet version of the PNLD became universally available on subscription.
The content of PNLD is continually updated and expanded by a small team of expert Legal Advisers, and there is now legislation available which supports not only police users, but also a broad range of professionals from the Trading Standards service, Ofcom, the NHS, and various colleges and universities
In 2006 PNLD was awarded ISO 9001 registration for its quality management system. which has been maintained each year since then.
Other Products and services
Other information resources were subsequently created by PDMS, using the same technology, to provide solutions for a range of information needs.
In 2005, the public-facing Ask the Police website was launched by Hazel Blears MP, the then Policing Minister. This information resource contains answers to around 700 questions about the police, and policing matters generally, which members of the public most frequently ask. By providing nationally consistent answers to their questions, Ask the Police enables the public to find the information they need at a time to suit them, and reduces the number of non-emergency calls to police forces.
A Scottish version of the site, www.askthe.scottish.police.uk, was launched in 2010 to reflect their unique legislation and procedures.
A free Ask the Police iPhone App was launched in 2012. An Android version is to be launched in October 2013.
In 2008, ACPO (the Association of Chief Police Officers) Performance Measurement Development committee identified a need for detailed data in a format which allowed detailed analysis in relation to crime and user satisfaction. They developed the specification for a national statistics database and submitted it to PNLD. The Police National Statistics Database (PNSD) was then developed by PDMS based on the same technical platform that was already driving the PNLD document management system and Ask the Police portal.
PNSD allowed police forces to compare detailed performance information around offence profiles, methods of detection and diagnostic user satisfaction findings. The information afforded by the resource was used both to support strategic decision making and also at a local level to assist in the delivery of policing neighborhoods.
The election of the first Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) in 2012 led PNLD to develop an Ask the Commissioner website, to answer the general public’s most frequently asked questions about this new role and as a means to make communication between PCCs and the public more effective.
In addition to their online resources, PNLD’s legal team have authored or contributed to various titles within the range of OUP’s Blackstone’s Handbooks. PNLD’s annual conference, First Line in the Frontline, has also been run since 2005.