"With only 200 people you need to be careful about staff selection so you get the right mix of in-house and contract staff," McDevitt said, adding CrimTrac used to outsource project management, but won't do it again to ensure people in such roles feel part of the organisation.

Regarding privacy concerns, McDevitt said anywhere where technology and policing intersect there will also be privacy issues.

"The privacy impact assessment is a powerful way to manage privacy issues. There is concern about the mass of personal information held by various organizations and any access into CrimTrac is 'auditible'," he said.

"There will always be breaches where people access information inappropriately and there is a real temptation to link data where it can be linked so we have to make sure we get the balance right."

CrimTrac is now engaged with New Zealand police departments to explore opportunities for greater information exchange of persons of interest.