RSPCA PNC checks

The request was successful.

Dear The Association of Chief Police Officers of England, Wales and Northern Ireland,

Please specify how many PNC checks you have carried out on behalf of the RSPCA in the 12 Months period Jan - Dec 2010.

Also specify which specific legislation enables the RSPCA (a private charity) to be classified as a NPA (Non Police Agency)

Yours faithfully,

Richard Martin

The Association of Chief Police Officers of England, Wales and Northern Ireland

2 Attachments

Good afternoon Mr Martin
Please find attached ACPO Acknowledgement to your Freedom of Information
request.
 
Regards
 
Sherry
 
 
Sherry Traquair | ACPO Freedom of Information Officer & Decision Maker
 
Association of Chief Police Officers, 1st Floor,
10 Victoria Street, London, SW1H 0NN
 
PO Box 481 Fareham Hampshire PO14 9FS
 
T  | 023 80674255
M | 077 685 53447
E  | [1][ACPO request email]
 
W| [2]www.acpo.police.uk
 
 
 
 

show quoted sections

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. file:///tmp/www.acpo.police.uk
3. mailto:[email address]

Sherry Traquair,

1 Attachment

Good evening Mr Martin

Please find attached ACPO Response to your Freedom of Information request.

With kind regards

 

Sherry

 

Sherry Traquair | ACPO Freedom of Information Officer & Decision Maker

 

Association of Chief Police Officers, 1st Floor,

10 Victoria Street, London, SW1H 0NN

 

c/o PO Box 481, Fareham, Hampshire PO14 9FS

 

T  | 023 806 74255

M | 077 685 53447

E  | [ACPO request email]

E  | [1][email address]

W| [2]www.acpo.police.uk

 

 

 

show quoted sections

Rob Willis left an annotation ()

"Like any other person or organisation that the law deems to have a duty to investigate – e.g., HM Customs &
Excise, Local Authority Trading Standards – the RSPCA is expected to conform to the rules in the Police and
Criminal Evidence Act 1984 so far as they relate to matters of investigation. RSPCA Officers are trained to
state, following giving the caution, that the person is ‘not under arrest and can leave at any time’."

The RSPCA mission statement that the reply links to inside wikipedia mentions nothing about their role as investigators, but just as campaigners. Furthermore, the statement 'that the law deems to have a duty to investigate' could be applied to countless other institutions such as debt collectors, insurers and even employers. Why do they not have the same access to the Police National Computer.

I'd be curious as to which law or set of laws the ACPO are referring too. Either way, the RSPCA should not be accessing anybody's criminal records, and to do so would be a breach of data protection laws.

This just sounds like yet another typical example of the police being to lazy to investigate themselves and effectively letting the RSPCA have a crack at it for them.

And I wonder what the vetting procedure is for becoming an officer in the RSPCA and then having access to the PNC in this way?

Nik Sharp left an annotation ()

The RSPCA are NOT legally entitled to issue a Caution.

This point was recently clarified in an Appeal (RSPCA v Easter 2013) where a District Judge stated that employees have no authority to issue a Caution, and any Caution so issued is worthless with no legal standing!