Data protection
The Data Protection Act 1998 was brought into force on March 1st
2000 and works in two ways. It gives individuals certain rights. It
also says that those who record and use personal information must
be open about how the information is used and must follow the eight
principles of 'good information handling'.
Principles
Anyone processing personal data must comply with the eight
enforceable principles of good practice. They say that data must
be:
- Processed fairly and lawfully
- Processed for limited purposes
- Adequate, relevant and not excessive
- Accurate and up-to-date
- Not kept longer than necessary
- Processed in accordance with the data subject's rights
- Secure
- Not transferred to countries outside the EEA without adequate
protection
Subject Access
Should you wish to know what information the City of London
Police holds about you, or you would like confirmation of whether
you have a prosecution or conviction history, you are asked to
complete a Subject Access Form. The payment of the statutory fee
and proof of identification (normally original official documents
such as passport or driving licence) must accompany each
application.
If you only wish information about your prosecution or
conviction history you are asked to apply through the police force
in whose area you live or last lived when in the UK. Details of UK
police forces can be found at www.police.uk (opens in a new window). A search
on the relevant force web site for 'data protection' or 'subject
access' should take you to the relevant web pages. For example,
residents or former residents of the Central and Greater London
(Metropolitan Police) area can download the relevant application
form and information about the process from
http://www.met.police.uk/information/index.htm
(opens in a new window)
Further information and application forms for the City of London
Police are available from the:
Data Protection Officer
City of London Police
182 Bishopsgate
PO BOX 36451
London EC2M 4WN
Please note that once we have received your completed
application the process to provide you with information can take up
to 40 days.