The form is just an administrative vehicle and provides organisations with reassurance that it is a bona fide and authorised enquiry. Yes the police should be specific but these situations are not always that cut and dried. I don't think these are 'fishing trips' - the criminal justice process requires that all information that may be relevant to the case is available to the court and the defence, whether the prosecution intends to rely on it or not. The police will be tasked by the CPS to identify any information that the defence should be made aware of. The issue here is how to identify that information - organisations holding the information may not always be the best qualified to do that and it places quite a significant burden on them, and the police would not be able to fulfil the CPS requirement without knowing whether such information exists. It is chicken and egg, and no-one can answer that question completely satisfactorily either!
Dawn Clarke
________________________________
From: Chris Tinsley [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 28 January 2016 12:39
To: Clarke, Dawn; [log in to unmask]
Subject: RE: [data-protection] Police Requests for Info re Credibility of Witnesses
All
I thought that police requests for information under section 29 usually came in on a form provided by ACPO (who no longer exist). This form identifies who is asking, who authorises the asking and is specific about what is being for. That would then stop fishing exercises and make the police think about why they were asking for the information. There was also a space for the crime number to be recorded so you could see that it was a legitimate exercise.
Surely letting the police see a whole record under section 29 so they can decide which bits may be relevant is just the sort fishing exercise we should be guarding against.
Regards
Chris
________________________________
From: Clarke, Dawn<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
Sent: ý28/ý01/ý2016 11:06
To: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: [data-protection] Police Requests for Info re Credibility of Witnesses
The police have to provide a list of all documents/evidence gathered, including 'Unused'. The defence can then ask to see any of that information as part of the court proceedings. Also, S.29(3) does cover 'prosecution of offenders' so can extend to the court process. Presumably they are asking for anything held that might undermine the individual's testimony, but I think you should probably press them to be more specific, e.g. information about previous allegations made by the individual that have been unfounded, any misconduct/disciplinary proceedings. If they want a statement as to the character of the individual, it is more likely this would be in the form of a witness statement. Would be worth a conversation with the officer to ascertain what they are after.
Whilst it is the case that the police won't know what is there, they can be clearer in their request about the type of information they are looking for, which will allow you to view the file/records and see if there is anything relevant. Of course, this places the onus on you to be able to recognise what information could be relevant to a case, which can be quite a big ask depending on the nature of the case.
I know of occasions where the officer and a representative of the organisation have gone through the records together, and the police have identified anything of relevance and the organisation has then made a decision on whether they agree to disclose or require a court order. I am also aware that some organisations feel uncomfortable with that because the act of viewing could be considered a disclosure. Some police forces will provide consent; however, one local authority went so far as to require police to obtain written consent from the subject that included a statement that the information could be used to discredit them on the witness stand - not ideal when the data subject was a 15 year old victim of sexual abuse who was already very nervous about the court process and was on the verge of withdrawing her allegation because she was too scared to go through with it.
Never an easy decision these ones, and often need looking at case-by-case.
Dawn Clarke
________________________________________
From: This list is for those interested in Data Protection issues [[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Lindsay Foody [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 28 January 2016 10:23
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [data-protection] Police Requests for Info re Credibility of Witnesses
Does anyone have any advice on dealing with Police disclosure requests under Section 29(3) where they ask for information about a data subject's credibility? I understand that unused evidence is shared with the defence if the case proceeds to court.
Thanks
Lindsay Foody
Information Access & Security Officer
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