Dear Colleagues,
I promised I would summarise the advice given.
It boiled down to decided what on the file was already in the public
domain and whether any material not in the public domain was
likely to cause _substantial_ distress to living persons. There was
also the age of the person convicted. If the file is to remain closed
then it should be for the lifetime of the individual concerned - say
100 years. I was also warned about the Rehabilitation of Offenders
Act and its possible repercussions and, of course, the Data
Protection Act.
I was also advised to study the PRO website at
http://website/recordsmanagemnt/access/default.htm
On balance I think it best to keep the file closed until the offender
can be supposed to have died - so another couple of years.
Thank you all for your help.
Clare Brown
.
Clare Brown
Archivist
MEC
St. Antony's College,
Oxford OX2 6JF.
Tel: 01865 284706
Fax: 01865 311475
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