The National Reporting Centre (NRC) was established by the ACPO in 1972 as a tool to assist police forces during major disturbances by providing a centralised intelligence exchange which would enable the mobilisation of officers outside their force area where necessary, in response to increased mobilisation. In March 1984, following years of negotiations between the government, industry officials and trade unionists, the national strike was called, in response to planned pit closures. During the strikes the NRC was under the command of David Hall, Chief Constable of Humberside. Some violent demonstrations took place between police and picketers during the course of the strikes and the police were criticized in the press for their militarized approach and there were accusations of police force run by central government. The strikes ended in March 1985 and, it has been argued, accelerated the decline of the coal industry in Britain.

The records in this series include reports on the NRC and its operation during and after the strikes, intelligence reports relating to the strikes gathered by the NRC and press cuttings accumulated by the ACPO.