THE CRIME AND DISORDER ACT

Before public or statutory bodies can disclose information, they must first establish whether they have power to do so and/or whether they have a responsibility to do so. Once the question of power is resolved, they must carry out the disclosure in a lawful manner. This statement sets out the general position following the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. ^*  

THE POWER TO DISCLOSE  

The police have an important and general power at common law to disclose information for the prevention and detection of crime. Indeed, both the public and the Government expect them to use their powers and their knowledge to prevent crime and to reduce crime and disorder. There are no restrictions on the disclosure of information which does not identify individuals.  

The Crime and Disorder Act 1998  

This Act introduces a number of measures to control crime and disorder: it puts a statutory duty on every local authority to exercise its various functions ... with due regard to ... the need to do all that it reasonably can to prevent ... crime and disorder in its area (section 17), and introduces local crime partnerships to formulate and implement ... a strategy for the reduction of crime and disorder in [their] area (sections 6–7); youth offending teams (section 36); anti-social behaviour orders (section 2); sex offender orders (sections 3–4); and local child curfew schemes (sections 15–16). All these measures depend on close co-operation, including the proper exchange of information.  

Public bodies collect information which will be central to the Act’s partnership approach; but they may not previously have had power to disclose this information to the police and others. Section 115 provides that any person can lawfully disclose information for the purposes of the Act to the police, local authorities, probation service or health authority (or persons acting on their behalf), even if they do otherwise not have this power. Section 115 will be part of the first tranche of measures, which will be implemented from 30 September 1998.  

Section 115 ensures all agencies have a power to disclose: it does not impose a requirement on them to exchange information, and so control over disclosure remains with the agency which holds the data. Information exchange, whether carried out under the power in section 115 or under any other common law or statutory power, is therefore controlled by the normal data protection regime and common law. The public rightly expects that personal information known to public bodies will be properly protected. However, the public also expects the proper sharing of information, as this can be an important weapon against crime. Agencies should, therefore, seek to share information where this would be in the public interest.  

LAWFUL EXERCISE OF THE POWER TO DISCLOSE  

Any disclosure of personal data must have regard to both common and statute law, for example defamation, the common law duty of confidence, and the data protection principles – unless and to the extent that any Data Protection Act exemptions apply. The principles require that such information is obtained and processed fairly and lawfully; is only disclosed in appropriate circumstances; is accurate, relevant, and not held longer than necessary; and is kept securely.  

The best way of ensuring that disclosure is properly handled is to operate within carefully worked out information sharing protocols between the agencies involved. Section 115 of the Crime and Disorder Act can be used to reinforce the many and existing and successful protocols for the sharing of information for crime and disorder purposes between, for example, the police and the probation service.  

For more detailed general guidance on the preparation and use of protocols, see Chapter 5 of the Guidance on Statutory Crime Reduction Partnerships.  

CONTACTS  

Home Office  

Paul Taylor, Criminal Policy Strategy Unit 020 7 273 2179  

Office of the Data Protection Registrar  

Amanda Chandler, 01625 545742  

* The Crime and Disorder Act coincides with the passing of the Data Protection Act 1998 which gives effect to, and is to some extent limited by, the 1995 European Data protection Directive (95/46/EC). The 1998 Act, which will take effect in early 1999, replaces the Data Protection Act 1984. The Act maintains limited exemptions necessary to avoid prejudicing the prevention or detection of crime.