National Criminal Intelligence Service
Encyclopedia
The National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) was a United Kingdom
policing agency
set up as a separate body in April 1992 to centralise the gathering and distribution of intelligence
on serious and organised criminal matters. NCIS was formed out of the National Drugs Intelligence Unit
in the Home Office
. Following the Police and Criminal Justice Act 2001, NCIS returned to direct funding by the Home Office in 2002 and was a non-departmental public body. On 1 April 2006 it was merged into the newly created Serious Organised Crime Agency
.
NCIS provided the intelligence back-up to other agencies, such as the National Crime Squad
, and concentrated on drugs
, financial crime, immigration
, firearm
s and organised crime. The organisation did not have a remit to deal with terrorism
. Internationally, NCIS liaised with Interpol
and Europol
, and other international law enforcement networks.
Under section 2 of the Police Act 1997, the functions of NCIS were:
Money laundering
reports were made to NCIS. The disclosure criteria were expanded by the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002
, and NCIS received around 100,000 disclosures in 2003, 60 per cent more than in 2002 and over triple the number in 2001.
NCIS employed staff directly, but also seconded staff from over 25 partner agencies such as the police, HM Customs and Excise, HM Immigration Service
, the Inland Revenue
, the Identity and Passport Service
, the Medicines Control Agency, the Financial Services Authority
and during Operation Trinity
, a long running specialist NCIS serious organised crime investigation, MI5
and the CPS
, beginning in 1992 the United States Customs Service detailed Special Agent/Criminal Investigators to the NCIC financial intelligence branch, the detail named Operation Centerpoint consisted of one Special Agent detailed to London for a three month temporary duty. Operation Centerpoint continued through 1993 when US law enforcement participation in the program was discontinued due to budget constraints.
NCIS had its headquarters at New Scotland Yard in London
, and during August 1992 moved to new facilities at Spring Gardens on the South bank of the Thames, with five regional offices in Birmingham
, Bristol
, Glasgow
, Manchester
and Wakefield
, and a satellite office in Belfast
. The service also operated in foreign territories with agents liaising and working directly from the government offices of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
(FCO).
Elements of NCIS were later incorporated into the Association of Chief Police Officers Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
policing agency
Policing in the United Kingdom
Law enforcement in the United Kingdom is organised separately in each of the legal systems of the United Kingdom: England & Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland ....
set up as a separate body in April 1992 to centralise the gathering and distribution of intelligence
Intelligence (information gathering)
Intelligence assessment is the development of forecasts of behaviour or recommended courses of action to the leadership of an organization, based on a wide range of available information sources both overt and covert. Assessments are developed in response to requirements declared by the leadership...
on serious and organised criminal matters. NCIS was formed out of the National Drugs Intelligence Unit
National Drugs Intelligence Unit
The National Drugs Intelligence Unit is a British police service providing law enforcement agencies with information and intelligence about criminal activity....
in the Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
. Following the Police and Criminal Justice Act 2001, NCIS returned to direct funding by the Home Office in 2002 and was a non-departmental public body. On 1 April 2006 it was merged into the newly created Serious Organised Crime Agency
Serious Organised Crime Agency
The Serious Organised Crime Agency is a non-departmental public body of the Government of the United Kingdom under Home Office sponsorship...
.
NCIS provided the intelligence back-up to other agencies, such as the National Crime Squad
National Crime Squad
The National Crime Squad was a British police organisation which dealt mainly with organised and major crimes. Formed in April 1998 after the amalgamation of six former Regional Crime Squads it merged on 1 April 2006 into the Serious Organised Crime Agency. The NCS reported directly to the Home...
, and concentrated on drugs
Illegal drug trade
The illegal drug trade is a global black market, dedicated to cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of those substances which are subject to drug prohibition laws. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs by drug prohibition laws.A UN report said the...
, financial crime, immigration
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
, firearm
Firearm
A firearm is a weapon that launches one, or many, projectile at high velocity through confined burning of a propellant. This subsonic burning process is technically known as deflagration, as opposed to supersonic combustion known as a detonation. In older firearms, the propellant was typically...
s and organised crime. The organisation did not have a remit to deal with terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
. Internationally, NCIS liaised with Interpol
Interpol
Interpol, whose full name is the International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL, is an organization facilitating international police cooperation...
and Europol
Europol
Europol is the European Union's criminal intelligence agency. It became fully operational on 1 July 1999....
, and other international law enforcement networks.
Under section 2 of the Police Act 1997, the functions of NCIS were:
- to gather, store and analyse information in order to provide criminal intelligence;
- to provide criminal intelligence to police forces in Great BritainGreat BritainGreat Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, the Police Service of Northern IrelandPolice Service of Northern IrelandThe Police Service of Northern Ireland is the police force that serves Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabulary which, in turn, was the successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary in Northern Ireland....
, the National Crime Squad and other law enforcement agencies; and - to act in support of such police forces, the Police Service of Northern Ireland, the National Crime Squad and other law enforcement agencies carrying out their criminal intelligence activities.
Money laundering
Money laundering
Money laundering is the process of disguising illegal sources of money so that it looks like it came from legal sources. The methods by which money may be laundered are varied and can range in sophistication. Many regulatory and governmental authorities quote estimates each year for the amount...
reports were made to NCIS. The disclosure criteria were expanded by the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002
Proceeds of Crime Act 2002
The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which provides for the confiscation or civil recovery of the proceeds from crime and contains the principal money laundering legislation in the UK.-Background:...
, and NCIS received around 100,000 disclosures in 2003, 60 per cent more than in 2002 and over triple the number in 2001.
NCIS employed staff directly, but also seconded staff from over 25 partner agencies such as the police, HM Customs and Excise, HM Immigration Service
UK Immigration Service
The United Kingdom Immigration Service, , was the operational arm of the Home Office, Immigration and Nationality Directorate...
, the Inland Revenue
Inland Revenue
The Inland Revenue was, until April 2005, a department of the British Government responsible for the collection of direct taxation, including income tax, national insurance contributions, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, corporation tax, petroleum revenue tax and stamp duty...
, the Identity and Passport Service
Identity and Passport Service
The Identity & Passport Service is an executive agency of the Home Office in the United Kingdom and became operational on 1 April 2006, succeeding the UK Passport Agency, after the passing of the Identity Cards Act 2006...
, the Medicines Control Agency, the Financial Services Authority
Financial Services Authority
The Financial Services Authority is a quasi-judicial body responsible for the regulation of the financial services industry in the United Kingdom. Its board is appointed by the Treasury and the organisation is structured as a company limited by guarantee and owned by the UK government. Its main...
and during Operation Trinity
Operation Trinity
Operation Trinity may refer to:*Trinity * Operation Trinity Clerkenwell crime syndicate, First post cold war collaboration of Mi5 to investigate organised crime....
, a long running specialist NCIS serious organised crime investigation, MI5
MI5
The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...
and the CPS
CPS
-Australia:*Corporate Protective Services, Sydney based GPS monitoring company*Chatswood Public School, a school in Sydney-Bangladesh:*Criminology and Police Science, CPS is a discipline studied by the department at Mawlana Bhashani Science and Technology University in Tangail, Bangladesh. Md...
, beginning in 1992 the United States Customs Service detailed Special Agent/Criminal Investigators to the NCIC financial intelligence branch, the detail named Operation Centerpoint consisted of one Special Agent detailed to London for a three month temporary duty. Operation Centerpoint continued through 1993 when US law enforcement participation in the program was discontinued due to budget constraints.
NCIS had its headquarters at New Scotland Yard in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and during August 1992 moved to new facilities at Spring Gardens on the South bank of the Thames, with five regional offices in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
and Wakefield
Wakefield
Wakefield is the main settlement and administrative centre of the City of Wakefield, a metropolitan district of West Yorkshire, England. Located by the River Calder on the eastern edge of the Pennines, the urban area is and had a population of 76,886 in 2001....
, and a satellite office in Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
. The service also operated in foreign territories with agents liaising and working directly from the government offices of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, commonly called the Foreign Office or the FCO is a British government department responsible for promoting the interests of the United Kingdom overseas, created in 1968 by merging the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Office.The head of the FCO is the...
(FCO).
Elements of NCIS were later incorporated into the Association of Chief Police Officers Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service
Association of Chief Police Officers Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service
The Association of Chief Police Officers Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service is a British police unit run by the Association of Chief Police Officers and responsible for combating organised vehicle crime and the use of vehicles in crime...
.