RESOURCES DIRECTORATE
Corporate Support and Information Services - Data Protection
Police Headquarters, Saunders Lane, Hutton, Preston PR4 5SB

Tel: 01772 413327 Fax: 01772 412123 Email: [Lancashire Constabulary request email]


Mr A Peasgill

Via : whatdotheyknow email address

6^th May, 2009

Dear Mr Peasgill

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION APPLICATION REFERENCE NO: 1626/09

I refer to your email of the 26^th March requesting an internal review in respect of the response previously provided to your FOI request in relation to police officers duties of confidentiality.

Your appeal was against the response provided in Paul Walker's email of the 26^th March.

Firstly, may I apologise that I have not been able to respond to you before now. Unfortunately, I have had a number of other commitments out of the office over the past couple weeks and it has not been possible for the Panel to convene.

An Appeals Panel has now considered your appeal.

The Panel noted that your initial request was received on the 27^th February and the response was provided within 20 working days. Some relevant information was provided. However, it is acknowledged that it might have been appropriate on receipt of your request to advise you that some questions were not valid and that you might wish to consider redefining certain elements of your request; in the meantime, relevant information would be sought. The Panel is satisfied that, in seeking to provide information relevant to your request, appropriate assistance was provided. The Panel noted that you should also have received a copy of the `complaints procedure', although I understand that this was to be forwarded with the outstanding information relating to sanctions. A copy of the `Complaints Procedure' is now attached.

The Panel noted that appropriate enquiries were made with various Departments in order to respond to your request. The Panel noted that relevant information was provided. However, further relevant information is provided with this letter together with some further context and the outstanding information in relation to sanctions.

The statement and terms of conditions for police officers includes reference to the Code of Conduct and the responsibilities placed upon them under the Data Protection Act. An extract of the relevant sections is attached. The staff guidance for Data Protection is presently being redrafted and should be available in the near future. Should you wish, a copy of this can be forwarded to you in due course.

The Police Officers `Code of Conduct' referred to within the terms and conditions is set out within the Standards of Professional Behaviour, established by the Police (Conduct) Regulations 2008. A copy of the standards is attached.

Generally, all police staff are required to comply with the obligations of the Data Protection Act 1998, and to take account of the rules by which organisations must comply when they handle personal data. The Act also sets out some circumstances when it is not necessary to comply with these rules, eg in order to prevent and detect crime. Responsibility for ensuring that organisations comply with the Act rests with the Information Commissioner, and further guidance and information can be found on the Commissioner's website: www.ico.gov.uk. This also includes details of the offences set out within the Act.

Generally, the obligations of confidentiality might be overridden if there is a risk or a greater public interest in not maintaining the confidentiality imparted. Information may also be disclosed by the Police to another organisation if there is a statutory obligation, eg provision of information to the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB). The general rules and considerations for police forces are set out within the Management of Police Information Guidelines, referred to in the previous response, and which can be found at the following website address: http://police.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/operational-policing/mopi_guidance.pdf?view=Binary

For information, an internal policy is being drafted with regards to disclosure of information. This will be available on the Constabulary website in the future.

With specific regard to victims, a national agreement is in place for victim information to be shared with Victim Support. This essentially provides that unless the victim objects, some relevant personal information will be provided to Victim Support. A copy of the Victim Referral Agreement is attached.

The sanctions available in respect of any breach of confidence by an Officer are as follows:

Management action

Management Advice

Written Warning

Final Written Warning

Dismissal with Notice

Dismissal without Notice.

I hope this is helpful. Should you require any further clarification, please do not hesitate to write to me at the address above. Of course, you have the right to complain further to the Information Commissioner should you still be dissatisfied. For completeness, the address is as follows:

Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF

Tel: 0845 630 6060

Yours sincerely

Carl Melling

Data Protection and Information Officer