Surely that's not a conviction? That's a plea. If the newspaper says that Mr
A. has been convicted, then he has been found guilty. If Mr A has entered a
guilty plea, but the process is still ongoing, then it would be wrong to say
that Mr A has been convicted of an offence. But even then, if the person in
question is charged with something serious (say, for the sake of argument,
attacking council staff), I would at least consider sharing via a PVP list
that Mr A has been charged with attacking council staff, and warning council
staff to take precautions. If Mr A is subsequently acquitted, I would
probably remove the warning. If he is convicted, I would change the warning
to 'has been convicted of'.
Is the risk of 'a lot of trouble' potentially necessary, rather than
explaining to a staff member (or their family) why information that could
have been helpful was kept secret for fear of falling foul of Data
Protection? Admittedly, I'm playing devil's advocate, but I know what my
priorities are. If push comes to shove, I would personally rather be
hammered by the Information Commissioner than risk staff safety. I'm not
sure the two have to be in conflict. But if they do compete, a knee-jerk
reaction of share nothing in case it causes you bother is a hard sell. There
are a very small minority of violent people out there, but we shouldn't put
people unnecessarily in harm's way if data-sharing can avoid that.
Tim Turner
Data Protection Officer
Wigan Council
> ----------
> From: Paul Ticher[SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
> Reply To: Paul Ticher
> Sent: 25 June 2004 10:50
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: [data-protection] PVP List
>
> I'd be very careful even about putting in a newspaper report about a
> conviction. I dealt with a case a year or two back where an organisation
> recorded a newspaper report that an individual had pleaded guilty to a
> serious offence against one of their clients, only to find that he was
> allowed to change his plea when the client was unable to testify, and was
> found not guilty for lack of evidence. His subsequent efforts to "clear
> his
> name" caused the organisation a lot of trouble.
>
>
> Paul Ticher
> 0116 273 8191
> 22 Stoughton Drive North, Leicester LE5 5UB
>
> I hereby require any recipient of this message not to use my personal data
> for direct marketing purposes.
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Tim Turner" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Friday, June 25, 2004 9:24 AM
> Subject: Re: PVP List
>
>
> > With a very po-faced expression...
> >
> > In my opinion, it's reasonable to use the data. If someone whispered
> gossip
> > in the car park about someone's alleged violent tendencies, I wouldn't
> put
> > it on our warning system unless I had a quick and clean method of
> verifying
> > the information. Our warning system is being set up, but it's designed
> to
> > contain reports from staff who have experienced violence, or data
> received
> > from sources which we can trust (which at the moment means the police).
> >
> > A report in a newspaper isn't something I'd considered using to populate
> the
> > system, but if it referred to a conviction, it seems a fair thing to do.
> If
> > it comes down to a choice between the privacy rights of someone with a
> > conviction for violence whose activities are a matter of public record,
> and
> > avoiding risks to staff (even slight risks), I'm not exactly put in a
> moral
> > quandary about which way to jump.
> >
> > As an aside about who to share with, because we're setting up a system,
> I
> > would want to see if it works internally before thinking about sharing
> with
> > other organisations.
> >
> > Tim Turner
> > Data Protection Officer
> > Wigan Council
> >
> > > ----------
> > > From: Cashmore, Stuart[SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
> > > Reply To: Cashmore, Stuart
> > > Sent: 25 June 2004 09:06
> > > To: [log in to unmask]
> > > Subject: Re: [data-protection] PVP List
> > >
> > > With my tongue firmly in my cheek...
> > >
> > > If, as you say, you are the sort of small rural community where
> everybody
> > > knows everybody else, why would you need to use a PVP marker. Surely
> > > everybody will know about this person anyway? :)
> > >
> > > Stuart
> > >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: Broom, Doreen [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> > > Sent: 23 June 2004 17:00
> > > To: [log in to unmask]
> > > Subject: PVP List
> > >
> > > ***** THIS EMAIL WAS SENT VIA THE INTERNET *****
> > >
> > > All
> > >
> > > Another on this subject....Picture this scene - coming from a very
> rural
> > > area - everyone know's someone basically. Anyway - article appears in
> > > local
> > > paper that J. Bloggs has mugged a 70 year old lady. The Group I have
> been
> > > meeting with say that they would wish to put those details on a PVP
> List
> > > especially if their staff were meeting with that person. I was of the
> > > assumption that you couldn't do this - just because they have mugged
> an
> > > old
> > > lady doesn't mean to say they could do the same to a member of staff -
> it
> > > may have been an isolated incident.....but.......The more I have
> thought
> > > about it - an article appearing in the press is in the public domain
> and
> > > court appearances are in the public domain so could we use this?
> > >
> > > Also can we share this information with other agencies or should each
> case
> > > be decided on an individual basis...i.e. need to know e.g. DWP/Health
> > > etc.?
> > > This is taking so long to get off the ground - any pointers anyone?
> Also,
> > > do you use traffic light system of risk analysis and how often for
> review?
> > >
> > > Any help greatly appreciated...it seems that most other Councils up
> here
> > > haven't really got this off the ground according to information
> received
> > > by
> > > the Group.
> > >
> > > Help....Help.........
> > >
> > > Doreen
> > > Doreen Broom
> > > Access to Information Officer
> > > Scottish Borders Council
> > > Tel: 01835 826516
> > > Fax: 01835 825041
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
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