Data Protection access requests to States of Jersey Police

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WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR HOME AFFAIRS BY DEPUTY M.R. HIGGINS OF ST. HELIER

ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 17th JUNE 2014

Question

Will the Minister set out for members -

1. the  number  of  subject access requests  made  to  the  States of Jersey  Police  under  the  Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2005 for each year since 2008 together with details of how many were completed within the 40 day period stated in Article 7(11) of the Law, how many are still outstanding and the period of time they have been outstanding;
2. set out the number of requests seeking for information which have been refused each year in the period prescribed in (a) and the grounds for refusal;
3. set out the number of requests to rectify inaccurate data held by the Police for each year since 2008 together with details of how long it took for the information to be rectified or, if the information was not rectified, the reasons for not doing so?

Answer

1. The States of Jersey Police have had 7594 subject access requests since 2008.

2008    1028 requests

2009    1232 requests

2010    1338 requests

2011    1174 requests

2012    1149 requests

2013    1211 requests

2014    462 requests to date

The States Police do not keep a central register of the timescales within which these have been answered.

To answer this part of the question would require each request to be checked individually. There are currently five SAR's outstanding:

The earliest is from 2012 and is under discussion with the Data Protection Commissioner. One is from December 2013 for which a number of disclosures have been made, however, the request remains live due to ongoing clarifications of what is required by the data subject. Three that are current and within the 40 day limit.

2. The States Police do not centrally keep figures for whether full or partial disclosures are made or the grounds for disclosure/non-disclosure. Those persons affected would have the option of complaining to the Data Protection Commissioner if they were unhappy with the States Police response. The Data Protection Commissioner may then direct the States Police to review the case.
3. The States Police do not keep a central register of requests for inaccurate data to be rectified. With the written permission of the data subject they can check individual files.

Subject access requests to the States Police can pose difficulties and delays may be experienced for a number of valid reasons including:-

1. The difficulty in actually finding the relevant information in a case in which the range of the requests is wide.
2. The exemption which exists in relation to criminal investigations. Although such an investigation may not currently be active, if further information arises then the investigation may need to be re-opened.
3. The need to protect the anonymity of third parties such as witnesses, with a requirement to first seek their consent to disclosure and, in appropriate cases, to redact the information held.
4. Difficulties may also arise in relation to requests to correct information held in circumstances in which the applicant disagrees with information held in the form of a complaint or a witness statement. In such cases the very fact that a complaint has been made or a statement given may be accurate information irrespective of whether the complaint or the witness statement are factually correct.