Offenders with multiple identities

Freedom of Information (FOI) Act request ref: 01/FIN/25/003935/R

Version Date: 04/12/2025

The Performance Analysis Department has provided the following information.

Data Source:

Crime information system – Niche

Timeline:

1 May 2015 (when Niche was introduced) to 12 November 2025.

Data Processing:

Count of individuals where the number of the person on the record (RMS number) matched the RMS number of the alias.

Caveats/Limitations

Please note that it is not possible to identify cases where fake identities are used in crime, however, we can report on the number of people who are shown on Niche to have an alias. The presence of an alias name does not necessarily indicate this is a ‘fake identity’. There are multiple reasons why a person may have a legitimate change of name, such as marriage/civil partnership, change by deed poll, or an alternative spelling of the same name.

Can I have a count by year of recorded or alleged crimes where there is evidence that one or more perpetrators have multiple identities.

I want a count to estimate of the amount of “fake” identities that might be in circulation and used in crime.

2000 till present