Roy's comments are certainly valid, BUT so is the existence of the law!
Where would we draw the line between serious and trivial????
We cannot afford to give illegal access to information whether we want to or
not!
If we find the legislation limiting in terms of assisting the police then the
thing to do is campaign for a change in the law, NOT break the existing one.
Remember, most of us are employees and may well be danger of falling foul of
our employers if we break this law and it becomes publicly know (WHETHER OR
NOT OUR MANAGERS AGREED WITH THE ORIGINAL DISCLOSURE!)
Laurie
Roy Davies wrote:
> I wasn't going to reply to the criticisms of my views on
> the unimportance of the data protection act compared with
> catching dangerous criminals but since, judging by the
> responses, librarians seem to be such a legalistic bunch I
> feel I must.
> <<big snip>>
--
Laurie Fenwick
University of Sunderland Library
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http://lauriefenwick.freeservers.com/
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Tel: +44(0)191 515 3306 Fax: +44(0)191 515 3061
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