Release of Information to the Police

If the police request the release of information about a particular person, they must provide you with a standard form requesting to have the data and the reasons for that.  The exception is if the request is an emergency or there is a statutory requirement for you to disclose the information.  

Disclosing information means providing it (eg. on paper or CCTV footage) or letting the police view it (eg. read it on your screen or view CCTV footage). 

Before disclosing the information, see if there is a legal requirement that you provide the information immediately. If not, request the Data Protection Act form from the police.

You must document what you have done by recording the information disclosed, to whom, when, and on what basis and whether the data subject was informed or not.

Your legal basis for processing is either (1) legal obligation where you are required by statute to provide the information or (2) the legitimate interests of a third party (the police) where the form is used.

LEGAL OBLIGATION TO DISCLOSE INFORMATION TO THE POLICE.

IF THE REQUEST IS ONE OF THE FOLLOWING THEN DISCLOSE THE INFORMATION WITHOUT GETTING THE FORM FROM THE POLICE:

1. Is the request an emergency?

Confirm this is an emergency request. i.e. if the information is not provided immediately, it would place one or more individuals at significant risk of harm.

Just because an officer is physically present does not mean it is an emergency.

2. Is there a statutory requirement for you to provide the information?

Is the police officer seeking information that you are obliged to provide by law? For example, this could be details that might help identify someone involved in a road traffic accident or terrorism.

If a statutory duty to provide information is claimed, then seek details from the police officer and record the relevant statute along with details of the information you have provided.

The statutes that required you to provide information are:

• The Prevention of Terrorism Act (1989) and The Terrorism Act (2000). You must inform the police if you have information (including personal information) that may assist them in preventing an act of terrorism or help in apprehending or prosecuting a terrorist.
• The Road Traffic Act (1988). You have a statutory duty to inform the police, when asked, of any information that might identify any driver who is alleged to have committed an offence under the Act. You are not required to disclose clinical or other confidential information.
• The Female Genital Mutilation Act (2003). You have a statutory duty to report to the police under Section 5B of this Act where it appears that a girl under the age of 18 has been subject to genital mutilation.

3. Does the public interest warrant disclosure? 

Will the information help the police with a serious crime such as murder, terrorism, safeguarding children or adults at risk of abuse or neglect, rape, kidnapping, gun or knife injuries, significant public health risks, significant risk to one or more individuals?  If so, then provide the information immediately.

IF THE REQUEST IS NOT ONE OF THE ABOVE STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS, THEN THE POLICE MUST FILL OUT A FORM CALLED A “Schedule 2 Part 1 Para. 2 Data Protection Act 2018 Exemption”.

Note that a Schedule 2 exemption does not provide a statutory requirement for you to disclose information to the police. Nor does legislation such as the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 or the Crime and Disorder Act 1988 require you to provide the information. This means that you must assess the police request and decide whether to provide the information or not.  You do not have to provide the information.

If a Schedule 2 exemption is claimed, the police officer must provide the correct form, properly filled out and countersigned by a senior officer.

You must assess the information on the form and ensure there is: 

• A clear indication that the police are confident that they are working within the framework of the DPA and will satisfy all relevant DPA requirements.
• Confirm that the officer asking for the information is doing so to prevent or detect a crime or prosecute an offender.
• Clarification on whether informing the individual about the disclosure would prejudice the investigation 
• A clear description of the specific information that is requested. Don’t accept the form if the request is ‘all information about Person X that will assist our investigation’.  The police need to tell you what information they require. You are not the investigator and can’t decide what is relevant to the investigation and what is not.

If the form is lacking in detail or has not been properly completed or countersigned, send it back to the officer and tell him/her what is missing.

For more information please contact Kristy Gouldsmith