UK police forces are legally allowed to keep a countrywide database of individuals’ spent convictions without breaching data protection laws, the Court of Appeal has ruled.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and the Information Tribunal joined forces to condemn the police system’s database, telling the courts that they were in direct breach of several principles in the Data Protection Act (DPA).
The opposition’s case rested on the belief that police should only be able to keep records of individuals for "core" police purposes, which would not include keeping information for the Criminal Records Bereau or Crown Prosecution Service. Civil rights groups also argued that the records meant the public was always "haunted by the minor indiscretions" of their youth.
But the Court of Appeal overturned an earlier decision this week, ruling that the ICO had stuck its accusative finger where only the police should be allowed, meaning the police will not be forced to permanently delete millions of files from their systems.
"Police judgements about operational needs will not be lightly interfered with by the Information Commissioner," ruled Lord Justice Waller
"His office cannot and should not substitute their judgment for that of experienced practitioners. If the police say that convictions, however old or minor, have a value in the work they do that should be the end of the matter."
The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) welcomed the courts ruling.
"This data assists police officers in their work in preventing crime and protecting the public, and the loss of such valuable information would have been detrimental to that," said Ian Readhead, ACPO’s Director of Information.
The ruling also means that employers will be able to access criminal record information on their employees as the Criminal Records Bureau will still be an available resource for those hiring.
