The
European Commission has announced plans to increase
international
data sharing on criminals by helping countries to share
information held on national criminal records databases.
It has established the European Criminal Records Information
System, which will put in place the general architecture for the
electronic exchange of information, and lay foundations for future
IT developments connecting criminal records systems.
By the beginning of 2009, interconnection software will be in
place. It will give tools to all 27 member states for the exchange
of information, helping them to bridge differences in legal
systems, languages and alphabets.
The commission said, "Existing mechanisms do not yield reliable
results. National courts frequently pass sentences on the sole
basis of the past convictions featuring in their national register,
without any knowledge of convictions in other member states. More
generally, this information, which is of particular relevance for
access to certain types of jobs, does not circulate properly."