Weeding, in the context of a vehicle (VRM) and the PNC, is the automatic act of removing a PNC LoS marker recorded against a VRM. This can occur at two stages after the PNC LoS entry is made:
- 6 weeks – if the LoS report is not CONFIRMED (PNC status flag: Confirmed/Unconfirmed)
- 6 years – the LoS marker will be removed, unless a specific instruction is given not to do so i.e. unless there is manual intervention.
20/08/2024the weeding procedure was confirmed by the NPCC in an FoIA response
When a force puts on a Lost or Stolen (LOS) report – unless there is a Crime or other Police Reference, this will be logged as ‘unconfirmed’ where the circumstances are not yet fully known.
With an ‘unconfirmed’ LOS report, these will as has been raised by the originator be weeded off automatically at 6 weeks.
Prior to this, at the 4 week mark the force will be notified by way of a Daily Action File (DAF) which will highlight an unconfirmed LOS Marker. Should no action be made on that repot it will be weeded 2 weeks later when the report has reached 6 weeks as not confirmed crime has taken place.
Should the circumstances be known and the marker is shown as ‘confirmed’ the entry will remain on the application for 6 years from the date of the original input.
At each annual anniversary of the marker, the force will be notified by way of DAF that there is a LOS confirmed marker for the force to confirm this is still correct.
This annual review was added at the last review of the process (which was undertaken more than 5 years ago), prior to this, the DAF was sent on the 6 year mark advising weeding.
The primary concern is that of 6-week weeding, at ‘a’ above. As detailed below, this is particularly problematic because until the police ‘CONFIRM’ a LoS report on the PNC, the LoS status of the VRM does NOT pass to the DVLA
If, after 6 weeks, the police have not confirmed a LoS report, the LoS marker is ‘WEEDED’ off the PNC. Therefore, at any one time, the DVLA data (used by many to cite vehicle taking numbers) will be lacking LoS records.
But after 6 weeks, if not confirmed, the VRM will appear clear on the PNC and at DVLA. The chances of recovering the vehicle are reduced, if not nil.
However, weeding appears to be a source of governance failure resulting in data integrity risk – see below.
We have long argued this to be the case, that weeding can and should stop. Examples of our writing can be found at – 11/2024 Linkedin ‘it has bene 6 weeks …‘
The issue appears to have been ignored by many constabularies and not to be understood by others associated with vehicle theft investigation.
Unable to bring an end to the procedure, we created a ‘safety net’ to help protect victims of vehicle theft, their insurers AND the police – the CMA safety net & CarCrime examples – 30/11/2024:
- How many vehicles, ‘reported’ stolen, are no longer ‘recorded’ stolen because of this archaic, unnecessary system?
- How many people are driving stolen vehicles without knowing this?
Our ‘monitoring’ protects the police from complaints and, where for example, an insured does not receive insurer settlement (possibly the loss circumstances do not provide cover), ensures they are not prejudiced by inadvertent, incorrect removal from the PNC LoS register.
Conversely, where recovery is made and the removal; from the LoS register appropriate, we can also ensure the victim is notified promptly (often before the police have done so) and potentially ensure they are reunited with their vehicle promptly, able to withdraw their claim or ensure it progresses with less likelihood of delay.