United Kingdom Central Authority for the Exchange of Criminal Records

ACRO also hosts the United Kingdom Central Authority for the Exchange of Criminal Records (UKCA-ECR), which links to the Central Authorities of all 27 Member States.

This work supports operational policing requirements on behalf of all police forces in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland.

One of the strengths of this work is the improvement of links between all parts of the UK regarding criminal record information.

The UKCA-ECR was established under an EU Council Framework Agreement designed to facilitate the exchange of information throughout the EU.

The UKCA-ECR primarily focuses on the notification to relevant Member States, of any convictions imposed in the UK on a national from that EU Member State and the receipt of notifications of convictions of UK nationals in other EU Member States.

It also receives and responds to requests, from all UK police forces and other law enforcement agencies, for extracts of criminal records of nationals from other EU Member States.

In acknowledgement of the importance of an effective exchange of information, the UK is participating in an EU-wide pilot project for the safe electronic exchange of criminal conviction information between member states.