Information Sharing - Crime & Disorder Act

Section 17 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 imposes a duty on local authorities and police authorities to do all that they reasonably can to reduce crime and disorder.

In order to do this the Act, under section 115, provides a power for the disclosure of information between partners.

Crime & Disorder Act Section 115

(1) Any person who, apart from this subsection, would not have power to disclose information:
(a) To a relevant authority.
(b) To a person acting on behalf of such an authority.

Shall have power to do so in any case where the disclosure is necessary or expedient for the purposes of any provision in this Act.

(2) In subsection (1) above “relevant authority” means:
(a) The chief officer of police for a police area in England and Wales.
(b) The chief constable of police force maintained under the Police (Scotland) Act 1967.
(c) A police authority within the meaning given by section 101(1) of the Police Act 1996.
(d) A local authority, that is to say:

(e) A probation committee in England and Wales.
(f) A health authority.

Section 115 of the Act has been strengthened through the Crime and Disorder (Prescribed Information) Regulations 2007 which now places a DUTY on responsible authorities to share depersonalised data specified in the schedule.

Good Information Sharing

The Crime and Disorder legislation does not, however, allow for the blanket disclosure or personal information for crime and disorder purposes. The Data Protection Act states that the minimum amount of personal data should be exchanged where necessary and where non-personalised or de-personalised data will be sufficient this should be used instead.

Eight Principles of Good Information Handling

These principles were put into place to make sure that information is handled properly. Working in Partnership means that you are likely to exchange data with different organisations. You need to be aware of what you have to do to comply with the Data Protection Act if you receive, send or store sensitive/personal information.

Data must be:

Fairly and lawfully processed
Processed for limited purposes
Adequate, relevant and not excessive
Accurate and kept up to date
Not kept for longer than is necessary
Processed in line with your rights
Secure
Not transferred to countries without adequate protection

Quite often the Data Protection Act is sited as a reason not to share information with partners. On the contrary, the Data Protection Act should enhance data sharing by regulating the flow of information and providing assistance with complying with the general rules of evidence. The Data Protection legislation puts in place a structured approach to the handling of sensitive personal information. It is up to agencies to establish clear procedures for processing this information.

In County Durham, various agencies have signed up to a joint protocol for information exchange.

Information in relation to the Data Protection Act is also available.

Partnership Induction homepage