The Animal Rights National Index (ARNI) was a unit within the Metropolitan Police Special Branch which collated intelligence and reports on the animal rights movement. It was later merged into the National Public Order Intelligence Unit.
ARNI was established circa 1986 by an Essex Police Special Branch officer, but soon became a national entity under the control of the Metropolitan Police Special Branch (MPSB). In 1989, it sat in D squad within MPSB, alongside the Special Demonstration Squad.
It liaised with animal rights officers based in regional police forces and maintained a database which it made available to all forces. By 1995 this database was said to contain 2000-3000 names of those who were suspected of or had committed animal rights-related offences.
It played a coordinating role in the policing response to animal rights activities, whether public order-related or activities such as sabotage or liberations. By 1998 it was running more than 100 informers and had an annual budget of £140,000.
Some of the intelligence it held would have come from the Special Demonstration Squad’s undercovers active in animal rights groups.
In 1999 it was merged with the Northern Intelligence Unit and Southern Intelligence Unit (anti-traveller / free party units based in regional forces) to create the National Public Order Intelligence Unit (NPOIU), which had a broader remit. Unlike ARNI, the NPOIU would have the resources and operational powers to run undercovers. The ARNI database would eventually become part of the National Domestic Extremism Database.
The last head of ARNI was Rod Leeming, who in 1999 left the police to found private intelligence firm, Global Open. Global Open would come to public attention when it was discovered that former NPOIU undercover EN12 Mark Kennedy ‘Mark Stone’ had left the police and was working with the company when he was exposed.
Under Freedom of Information requests, some documents on the formation of the NPOIU from ARNI and other units have been released.