Five police forces which challenged a ruling that they should delete records on criminal convictions from their database have won their appeal.
The court of appeal said convictions, however old and however minor, can be of value in the fight against crime.
The court said that as a result the retention of that information should not be denied to the police.
The forces said if they had lost, they may have been forced to delete details of as many as one million people.
Read more on BBC News.