The National Police Reference System (NPRS), now being rolled out nationally, will let police and law enforcement agencies exchange information about people in various jurisdictions share information about persons of interest.

Manger of the Capability Development Team and overseer of the project, Peter Brown says the system will be rolled-out to more than 50,000 users by early 2009, giving all police officers access.

"The system provides information critical to the day-to-day duties of community policing. It supports police with richer data on persons of interest than was available previously using other systems.

"The NPRS includes warnings, warrants, offence history, orders, firearms, bail information, whether the person is wanted or an unidentified body or person, a missing person, or an escapee. It also reveals whether they are on the Australian National Child Offender Register. Future NPRS goals will include enhancements to provide more information about people, their firearms and vehicles. "It's important that police have access to rich data about the people they are dealing with. It's a bit more than just the person . . . you need to be able to do a vehicle check and a licence check . . . that's the bread and butter of policing," Brown says.

The system has recently won two national awards.