Criminal records
The Data Protection Act gives the right to find out what personal information
the UK criminal justice system including the police keep about you. By reading
‘Your rights to police information’ factsheet, you can obtain a
copy of the information by requesting (in writing) to your local police force.
A fee of £10 may be charged and you will need to prove your identity.
If the police fail to respond within 40 days, you can make a complaint to us.
You can also request your personal information held by other organisations,
ie. HM Prison Service, HM Court Service and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
Official criminal justice information:
You can request official information about the criminal justice system held
by public authorities, including UK police forces and prisons, unless it is
exempt under the Freedom of Information Act. Make a request, by visiting our
‘Access to official information’ webpage. The public authority will
respond within 20 working days, if they fail, you should ask for an internal
review, if you are still not satisfied, make a complaint to us.
Before making a request, check the appropriate website to see if they have
already published the information you require. Make use of the UK Police Service
website which provides links to all geographic and non-geographic police forces
in the UK.
Releasing information to prevent or detect crime:
Information needed to prevent or detect a crime, or to catch and prosecute a
suspect will be exempt from parts of the Act. Organisations are most likely
to get requests like this from the police, but they may get requests from other
organisations that have a crime prevention or law enforcement function - for
example, the Department for Work and Pensions Benefit Fraud Section.
For purposes of preventing or detecting a crime, or catching and prosecuting
an offender, an organisation may release personal information on a case by case
basis.
ICO’s enforcement powers under the Data Protection Act and Freedom
of Information Act:
A data controller who breaches the Data Protection Act and has been served with
an enforcement notice can be prosecuted and carries a penalty of a £5,000
fine in the magistrates’ court and an unlimited fine in the Crown Court.
Every organisation that processes personal information must notify the ICO,
unless they are exempt. Failure to notify is a criminal offence. Examples:
• In October 2005, two debt collection Companies, were each fined £5,000
and ordered to pay £300 towards prosecution costs, by Manchester city
magistrates.
• In April 2005, a recruitment Company pleaded guilty to an offence under
S17 (1) of the Data Protection Act 1998 and were fined £100 and ordered
to pay prosecution costs of £700.
Unlawful obtaining or disclosing of personal information:
It is an offense to disclose /procure the disclosure of personal information,
without the consent of the data controller. Examples:
• Private detectives who obtain information for their customers by deception.
• An individual who works for a bank, if they knowingly or recklessly
pass on the account details of someone other than for legitimate purposes.
Data Protection Act scams:
Some companies claiming to be Data Protection Act or CCTV ‘notification
agencies’ have been encouraging firms to pay them exaggerated sums to
notify with the ICO or risk large fines. They have no association with the ICO,
unless they should be notified direct with the ICO at a cost of £35. Example:
• Two people were sentenced to six-and-a-half years imprisonment in December
2004 after pleading guilty to conning businesses across the UK out of nearly
£700,000 in data protection scams.
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