The Data Protection Act 1998
Introduction
The Data Protection Act 1998 was brought into force on 1 March 2000 and works in two ways. It gives individuals certain rights. It also says 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 EEA without adequate protection
Subject Access
Section 7 of the Data Protection Act 1998 states that a "data subject" (the person about whom the personal data refers) is entitled, upon written request, to be informed (subject to certain exemptions) whether or not personal data is held or processed about them and to have a copy of any such data.
These rights are known as 'subject access' rights and they don't just apply to the police. Again, subject to certain exemptions, they can place an obligation on others that have information about you to supply you with a copy of that information.
However, there are limitations to these access rights:
You can only find out details held by the police about yourself.
The Gloucestershire Constabulary cannot give you information that is held by other Constabularies or organisations. You will need to apply to others separately.
How do I get information about myself from the police?
Should you wish to know what information (if any) Gloucestershire Constabulary holds about you, for example you may like confirmation that you do, or do not have a prosecution/conviction history, you must put your request in writing to tell us what you want, or you may find it easier to complete one of our Subject Access application forms.
Payment of a £10.00 fee (payable to Gloucestershire Police Authority) and proof of identification must accompany your letter of request or completed application form. Application forms are available from:
The Data Protection Office
County Police Headquarters
No 1 Waterwells
Waterwells Drive
Quedgeley
Gloucester,
GL2 2AN
tel: +44 (0)1452 754304
Alternatively, you can request an application form through this site (click here).
Please note that once we have received your completed application the process to provide you with information can take up to 40 days.
IMPORTANT - If you are seeking emigration, visas, work permits or residency in Australia, Canada, New Zealand or the United States of America only, you do not need subject access. Instead you need to obtain a special ACPO Police Certificate under a different process. Click to download the necessary application form and guidance direct from the ACPO website. Please do not send your completed ACPO application form to the Gloucestershire Constabulary. It must be returned to the ACPO address referred to in the ACPO website. For all other countries, subject access is still required.
Using Subject Access to get Information About Yourself for Others
Some organisations often request evidence of your caution/conviction history (including the lack of it), describing these requests as 'police checks', 'police references', 'police certificates', 'clearance certificates', vetting checks' or 'certificates of good conduct/character'. Foreign embassies, for example, require such evidence from people applying to migrate to their country.
The Data Protection Act 1998, protects such sensitive information and subject to certain exemptions, prevents the police giving information it holds about you to these people, organisations or agencies. However, you can get it yourself using subject access and then pass it on to them if you wish.
Please be aware that where you want to use your subject access rights to get information to give to other agencies, in spite of their terminology that may indicate otherwise, this does not actually constitute a 'check by the police' for those agencies. Our obligation is to provide you with the information you are entitled to. What you do with that information and how you and others may describe the process of getting it, is of course a matter entirely for you!
(click here to see the FAQs relating to jobs that require 'police vetting' and the involvement of the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB)