Dear Hanah and Lis-Link,
As a non-lawyer, but someone who has to comply with the Data
Protection Act, I would have thought you would be on very thin ice.
Unless all your tenants are serial rapists or suspects you would be
handing over personal data on the off-chance that it might be useful, with
very little control of what it would then be used for.
I thought this was just what the the DPA was supposed to prevent.
I would not feel happy handing over such data unless someone had
sifted it or qualified it by some measure of reasonable suspicion.
John Ross
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At 13:39 28/01/00 -0000, you wrote:
>Dear All,
>
>Here's a puzzler for a Friday afternoon:
>
>I work for a social landlord in Bath looking after (among other things) a
>database of our 10,000 properties in the city of Bath and surrounding area.
>On Tuesday's Crimewatch there was an appeal about a serial rapist in Bath
>and my immediate thought was that maybe the records I look after would be
>useful - they detail who lived where and when back to at least the early
>nineties.
>
>Just to be on the safe side I okayed it with my boss. 'Fine,' she said, 'but
>check the data protection issues.' I had a look on the website (
>http://www.dataprotection.gov.uk/ <http://www.dataprotection.gov.uk/> ) and
>couldn't find the answer so I phoned the information line. The limited
>information I received was that if the police ask us for information and we
>believe that we would be hindering their investigations by not supplying it
>then we can share what we know, but we can't approach them and offer our
>assistance.
>
>My question really is how accurate is this? Are there any exceptions when
>the act is applied to the police?
>
>Any help would be gratefully received.
>
>Many thanks
>Hannah
>
>
>
>Hannah Cooke BA (Hons)
>Management Information Officer
>Somer Community Housing Trust
>Westmoreland House
>Westmoreland Street
>Lower Bristol Road
>Bath BA2 3HE
>
>
>
>01225 326057
>int 6057
>
>
> <mailto:[log in to unmask]> [log in to unmask]
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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