Police: Databases
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress she has made in delivering the Law Enforcement Data Service programme.
Answered by Sarah Jones
The Law Enforcement Data Service (LEDS) is progressively replacing the legacy Police National Computer (PNC). The LEDS Property product is now the sole system for processing stolen and found items across UK police forces. Currently, 52 police forces, including Jersey and Guernsey, are connected to LEDS.
So far in 2025, LEDS has handled over 12 million transactions, demonstrating strong growth and reliability. LEDS Vehicles and Drivers are live and widely used, while LEDS Person is rolling out in phases to support data on suspects, criminals, and missing or wanted individuals. The “Photographs at the Roadside” feature, showing driving licence images on police devices, has saved over 1 million hours of police time since its launch in January 2021.
LEDS has achieved BS10008 Certification, confirming the legal admissibility of its electronic records. A Code of Practice has been developed with the College of Policing to guide appropriate use of LEDS and PNC.
The programme remains technically complex and under close ministerial oversight. Final delivery and PNC decommissioning are planned for 2026, subject to assurance from policing stakeholders and the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority.
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