Frontline police officers want telecommunication companies to store text messages and call-data for a set period.
The Police Association says there is already a legal obligation on the companies to supply data, the question is how long they store it.
Police Association spokesman, Chris Cahill, says police would like telephone companies to hold data for at least six months.
He says the police would still be required to obtain a search warrant to access the information, but the association would like to see the companies take action themselves.
Mr Cahill says if the telcos set their own standards there may not be any need to change the law.
He says there wouldn't be many major criminal investigations that don't have some element of phone data or text messaging that are relevant to it.
