Brian,
Under Sarah's law the officer would be covered.  However, it would be the police making the disclosure rather than a Council.  Moreover, the person making the request (to find out if someone is a threat) has to prove their bona fides and the police have the authority to verify that the applicant should have the information i.e. interview the applicant, search their local information systems for the applicant.

In other words, a member of the public could not, out of a general public interest, make a request under Sarah's Law.  They would need to demonstrate a "need to know" *and* the police would need to be satisfied of that "need to know."

On the question under debate, I would want to know how this breaches the data protection act.  I understand that they have disclosed information. However, if they know something privately i.e. they surf the net *and* their job gives them access to the same information which source are they using?

Yes, they may be acting in an official capacity, but how does one demonstrate that they have acted on the organisation's information or their personal information?  To the extent that they have done this in an official capacity it is bad practice, but is it automatically a breach of the DPA? For example, what if they are the cousin of the wronged party?

On the electoral process, the key difference is that in the United States (unlike the UK) people register for a political party to vote in the party's primary.  As a result, it is relatively easier to track voter preferences in elections. Their voter registration card, which is a public record, contains that information so that they cannot vote in other primaries. They can vote for other candidates in the general election, but not in the primaries.  You can decline to register with a party and still vote in the non-primary elections.

http://www.ehow.com/how_2098459_register-vote-republican.html
http://www.wikihow.com/Become-a-Registered-Democrat


Best,

Lawrence



-----Original Message-----
From: This list is for those interested in Data Protection issues [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Brian Morgan
Sent: 06 March 2013 19:41
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [data-protection] Is disclosure of criminal record a breach of the Data Protection Act if it is already in the public domain?

Slightly off tangent, how about information disclosed under 'Sarah's Law'? http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/media-centre/news/sarah's-law

Brian

On 6 Mar 2013, at 17:30, Jackie Milne (JISC Legal) wrote:

I don't think this prevents the application of the DPA either.  Where the individual deliberately makes the information publicly available, it would be hard to argue damage or distress but this is still strictly a breach, it will come back to considering whether disclosure is 'fair'.

On the bright side.......in terms of defamation, there would be no case where the 'substantially true' defence applies.

Cheers,
Jackie.
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