DATA PROTECTION & PRIVACY
In the digital age, the police hold an immense amount of your most sensitive information—from criminal records and DNA data to private messages and location history. When this data is leaked, shared unlawfully, or accessed without a valid policing purpose, the damage to your reputation and private life can be devastating.
If the police have mishandled your personal data, you are protected by the Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK GDPR. As a specialist in police misconduct, I help individuals secure compensation and ensure their private records are corrected or deleted.
Common Breaches of Privacy
I help clients take action against the police for a variety of digital and informational failures, including:
- Unlawful Disclosure: Sharing your sensitive information with third parties (such as employers, neighbors, or the press) without a legal basis.
- Unauthorized Access: Officers “snooping” into files or databases (like the Police National Computer) for personal reasons or out of curiosity.
- Inaccurate Record Keeping: Failing to delete spent convictions or maintaining incorrect “intelligence” markers that prevent you from gaining employment or travel visas.
- Loss of Data: Losing physical files or digital devices containing your private information.
- Mishandling Sensitive Investigations: Failing to protect the anonymity of victims or witnesses, particularly in cases involving sexual offences or domestic abuse.
Your Right to Compensation
A breach of the Data Protection Act does not require “physical” harm to warrant a claim. You can sue the police for:
- Distress: The anxiety, loss of sleep, and emotional toll caused by the privacy breach.
- Financial Loss: If the data leak led to the loss of a job, a contract, or other financial opportunities.
- Special Damages: To cover the costs of “cleaning up” the leak, such as legal fees to have records formally corrected.
Reclaiming Your Privacy
Taking on the police for data breaches requires a forensic understanding of both the law and police IT protocols. My goal is not just to secure financial redress, but to force the force to admit their error and, where possible, expunge (delete) the data that should never have been processed in the first place.
Protecting Your Rights
With over 30 years of experience, I’ve seen the ways police misconduct has evolved. If your privacy has been invaded by the state, you don’t have to accept it.
Frequently Asked Questions
This is a legal claim (based on Article 8 of the Human Rights Act) that applies when the police interfere with information that you have a "reasonable expectation" of keeping private. It often goes hand-in-hand with Data Protection claims, especially when the police leak details of an investigation to the public or media.
Yes. Accessing the Police National Computer (PNC) or local databases for non-policing purposes is a serious breach of the Data Protection Act and often constitutes Misfeasance in Public Office. Even if they didn't share the info with anyone else, the act of "snooping" is actionable.
This is a classic "Unlawful Disclosure." Unless there is a specific, high-level public safety reason to do so, the police generally cannot disclose information about arrests or investigations to your employer. If this led to your dismissal, your claim for damages could be significant.
f the data held by the police is inaccurate, irrelevant, or was obtained through an unlawful arrest, we can apply for the deletion of that data (including fingerprints and DNA). This is often a critical part of the claims I handle.