Three million criminal records now held on microfiche will be entered into the British Police National Computer within two years. Once the system, called Phoenix, is complete the police will be able to narrow down searches: for example, they could find the names of individuals with convictions for sexual assault who have blond hair, are aged between 25 and 40 and live in Kent.

Michael Howard, the Home Secretary, says Phoenix 'will become one of the police's most valuable resources in the fight against crime'Tigers in print.

Courtesy Computer Crime