Question: 
I received a warning for speeding this evening. I was trying to get out of the way of the person behind me (who ended up being a police officer). He told me my name would be in some sort of police database in case an officer sees me and pulls me over for speeding again.
He was surprised that I have nothing on my record, I don't even have a parking ticket so I'm concerned about how long my name will be in this database.
Can you tell me how long it stays in the police database and what are the other ramifications?
B.C. Police Database
You are likely speaking about PRIME, the Police Records Information Management Environment, managed by PRIMECorp.
Officers enter information about all sorts of police contact in it and the records are stored for varying lengths of time depending on what they are related to.
I am not aware of how long something like this will be stored and cannot find an indication on line. The BC Civil Liberties Association has advice on how to check for information held on you in PRIME.
Ramifications
Will another officer check, see that you have been warned and then issue a ticket if you are caught speeding again? Perhaps. It really depends on how thoroughly they choose to check you when you are stopped.
My bet is that most often after they find out your licence is valid and you have no outstanding warrants, that will be the end of the inquiry unless the circumstances give them a reason to dig further.
As for other ramifications, my only guess might be if you need a record check for a job that involves driving and this is disclosed. It appears that policy says that it won't be, so I guess that worry is eliminated.
Share This Article
- Log in to post comments