Liz,
I sent this to Edwina . you may be interested:
The Police and other authorised agencies should make a request under the
Section 29(3) of the DPA 1998. You are not obliged to disclose any data
unless you have reasonable grounds for believing that any failure to do so
would be likely to prejudice the purposes for which the data was requested
(I.e. the prevention or detection of Crime or the Apprehension and
Prosecution of offenders etc). The Commissioner has stated in her
Introduction to the DPA 98 that "there would have to be a substantial chance
rather than a mere risk that in a particular case the purposes would be
noticeably damaged".
What you need to obtain from the police are details of:
1: The crime being investigated
2: The reason for the enquiry (i.e. the appropriate DPA exemption purpose)
3: How the absence of any information would be likely to prejudice the
enquiry
Also, if you work for a local authority, you also need to be aware of
Section 115 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 which allows the Police and
local authorities to share information. See
http://www.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts1998/80037--s.htm#115
<http://www.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts1998/80037--s.htm#115>
Much depends on the information being requested and whether they are asking
for info on internet usage etc, email access ..... that's a different ball
game
I hope this helps.
Pat Walshe
-----Original Message-----
From: Liz Howard [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 10 March 2000 14:14
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Requests for Data by Police
I've been asked by our Principal to prepare some guidance to set out under
what circumstances we respond to requests from the Police for personal
information about our students. I'm aware of the Crime and Disorder Act
provisions but the requests are generally about specific individuals in
relation to a crime committed.
Does anyone have any guidelines they'd be prepared to share with us?
_________________________
Liz Howard
Head of Computer Services
City of Westminster College
25 Paddington Green
London W2 1NB
Tel: 0171 258 2940 Fax: 0171 258 2743
email: [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
--
This communication contains information which is confidential and
may also be privileged. It is for the exclusive use of the
intended recipient(s). If you are not the intended recipient(s),
please note that any distribution, copying or use of this
communication or the information in it is strictly prohibited.
If you have received this communication in error, please notify
the sender immediately and then destroy any copies of it.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
|