Police told to wipe criminal records from computers

 

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By Barry Collins

Posted on 1 Nov 2007 at 09:08

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has told four police forces to delete old criminal records from their computer systems.

The records date back as far as 30 years and, in some cases, refer to trivial crimes. One record held by Humberside Police relates to the theft of a 99p packet of meat in 1984, in which the person involved - then under 18 - was fined £15.

The ICO argues the forces are holding the records on the Police National Computer without just cause. "Each case relates to individuals who have been convicted or cautioned on one occasion and have not been convicted of any other offences," says Mick Gorrill, assistant commissioner to the ICO.

"Some of the incidents date back nearly 30 years. The offences were non custodial and we believe there is no justification in terms of policing purposes for retaining the information.

"The retention of the previous conviction information is causing harm and distress to the individuals concerned. I held the rank of detective superintendent in the police prior to my retirement after 30 years service. We are not satisfied that in these particular cases this information will be of any use for policing purposes."

The four forces involved - Humberside, Northumbria, Staffordshire and West Midlands - have all appealed against the decision, meaning the data won't be wiped until the outcome of the appeal is determined.

Humberside's reluctance to delete police records is perhaps understandable. The force was severely criticised in 2004 when it was revealed that computer records on Soham murderer Ian Huntley had been wiped.