Sharing personal information 677/2024
FOI Reference: 677/2024
Request Q1:
Does the police, for whatever reasons, get involved in assisting parents to locate their adult children whom they do not want any relationship with? If so, under what police powers do you rely on for this?
Clarification sought from requestor
Is this question referring to missing persons or adults in general?
If your request is referring to missing persons, then the Authorised Professional Practice (APP) on missing persons may be of assistance to you. Please see the below link:
Missing persons | College of Policing
Clarification received
This would be for adults in general.
BUT I would be grateful if you could answer the following because it is also implicable-
In police initiating missing persons reports off of information received from estranged parents about their adult children that they do not want a relationship with them, so they request a missing persons investigation for this reason.
Response Q1
Every Missing Person report is risk assessed on it’s own merit and circumstances. From there it is decided if police are going to investigate. The DPP Missing Person policy is attached below and also the national Missing People charity is also somewhere we would signpost family members. They have a lost contact tracing service which may be more suitable if police were not investigating a person who chose to be absent as opposed to missing.
Family support - Missing People
Request Q2
Does the police, generally, share information about and between family members as per their requests?
Clarification sought from requestor
Can you please identify exactly what information you are seeking here? What sort of requests are you referring to?
Clarification received
As an individuals personal information is private under data protection laws, under what circumstances would police officers share an individuals a) whereabouts b) address c) details of their private relationships d) details of any children they have or relationships they enter e) details of their mental health f) details of their exit and entry into the country g) their financial data and any financial information which police obtain about the individual , with an individual’s family members or relatives whether they are restranged, non-contact or are in a form of contact with their relatives, i.e parents, siblings and assuming that the individual is an adult and a fully autonomous adult.
Basically, do police officers ever share a person’s information with their family members WITHOUT their consent?
Response Q2
See response Q3
Request Q3
Why do you share and spread information between family members, especially if the family members are all adults and the police are not allowed to get involved in any civil matters, why do you disperse of yourself in these such particular and rather strange ways?
Clarification sought from requestor
Can you please identify exactly what information you are seeking here? What type of information are you referring to where you say ‘share and spread information’.
Clarification received
If the answer to the previous question is yes/s in the affirmative, then please could you explain why the police would deem it lawful and necessary to share a persons private information without their consent to third parties i.e their relatives, parents.
Response to Q2 & Q3
If Police did pursue and investigate a missing person report to establish a persons whereabouts, we would not invade that persons right to a private life by disclosing the whereabouts unless, the circumstances deemed it necessary to disclose for the safety and wellbeing of said person.
Data Protection legislation requires a lawful basis for the sharing of personal information to take place, consent is just one of the lawful bases for sharing. If consent is not an appropriate lawful basis for sharing information, then Dyfed Powys Police will need to rely on another lawful basis to share information. The lawful basis for sharing information are set out in Data Protection legislation.
There is ICO guidance on sharing information contained within the Data sharing: a code of practice | ICO
Additionally, Information Sharing requirements are set out within the College of Policing Authorised Professional Practice (APP) on Information Sharing @ Information sharing | College of Policing
Dyfed Powys Police is signed up to the Wales Accord on Sharing Personal Information (WASPI) further information can be found @ WASPI Home - Welsh Accord on Sharing of Personal Information. Information Sharing Protocols are published on the WASPI website. They can identify whether consent is required or not for sharing to take place.
Dyfed Powys Police has an Information Sharing Policy available @ information-sharing-policy
Request Q4
Do police have the power to stop and detain a person and ask them personal questions such as- Why is this person travelling abroad, where are they going to, who are they going to meet and whatever else you want to know?
Clarification sought from requestor
We assume that this question is referring to Police powers associated with stopping and detaining a person – can you confirm that our assumption is correct?
Clarification received
This is not referring to stopping and detaining a person for the purpose of stop and search.
It is referring to any missing persons reports of a person OR anything in the general sense, i.e it could be a person is not missing but yet they are approached by law enforcement at ports of entry or exit or even being in public places and are approached my police officers who ask them those particular questions about their private life.
For the purpose of context, the questions posed by police officers would be :
1.Where are you travelling to
2.Are you travelling to any other places. Locations.
3.Who are you going to meet
4.Do you have friends that youa re meeting
5.How did you afford to travel
6.What is the purpose of you leaving the country.
7.How long will you be away for or how long will you be travelling for?
Response Q4
Police have the power to stop and detain persons. During those interactions, officers may ask supplementary questions.
Request Q5
Do you as a police force, seek out pictures of individual women from their landlords and housing associations or council landlords using either social media accounts or communication apps i.e Watsapp, telegram etc ..... and if so, what police powers do you rely on to legally gather these images of a person without their knowledge and approved consent? Considering that profile pictures on social media or telecommunication apps are personal pictures, what police powers do you rely on to derive such personal pictures of them and to hold these images, which are their own copyright images and they are the rightful owners of the image/s, without their informed consent?. Can you not use a person's Identification such as passport, Driver's licence or custody pictures etc to locate them or to keep locating of a persons, so Why would your police force be obtaining personal pictures of a person as opposed to actual photo identification in the need of any police investigation.
Clarification sought from requestor
We assume that this question is referring to Police powers associated with the obtaining of photos to assist investigations – can you confirm that our assumption is correct?
Clarification received
No. I am not referring to obtaining photos to assist in investigations.
If police officers obtain a womans photos which are NOT official police custody photos/ police record photos but are instead personal photos i.e selfie’s, intimate photos, dating profile photo’s, social media photos of a woman OR photographs taken of the woman covertly, ie.e taking a womans picture when she is unknowing someone is taking her photograph.
And they obtain them BEFORE any investigation/s do take place or occur.
Also, the police force already have a person’s ID and Custody photos from the PNC database, so why would they :
i) Need a womans intimidate photos, or selfie photos, dating profile photos or photos which are taken covertly of her.
Go to covert means to obtain a womans photos means that there has already been a level of covert surveillance. Because if the woman did not share the photos herself willinfuly with serving police officers, then the police officers must have solicited her friends or associated persons and asked them to provide them with her phtos, therefore there is a level of covert surveillance happening against the woman, would that be correct?
Response Q5
When dealing with missing persons, officers are advised to seek current and up to date pictures from family members in order to help find them safe and well.
Request Q6
Further, What powers do you rely on to obtain their copyright images of persons against their will? and will you delete these photos or retain them against the victim's consent who has repeatedly asked you to delete her pictures and stop conducting surveillance of her, to gather these photographs of her, which is criminality and is stalking behaviours by police officers in your police force.
Clarification sought from requestor
We assume that this question is referring to Police powers associated with the obtaining of photos to assist investigations – can you confirm that our assumption is correct?
In respect to the deletion of photos, under Data Protection legislation a data subject has what is known as ‘data rights’ where they can make a request to have information deleted. However, that request may be denied. Is this what you are referring to here? The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has guidance in respect to ‘rights to erasure’ and how to submit such a request. The guidance also identifies when such requests might be refused see: Your right to get your data deleted | ICO
Clarification received
Please could you explain under what scenario’s or under which relevant laws, might that request for deletion of a womans photographs obtained without her consent and stored without her consent, be denied?
I am referring to police powers to obtain personal photos of a person for the purposes of a FUTURE missing persons report. And the purpose of the police obtaining and storing a persons photos in the event that they do become missing and with the enthusiasm that the police will use that photo/s as intended.
i.e A police officer gathers or obtains a persons person photo or recording of them, covertly, and then several months later, they are falsely reported as missing, and the police officer will use the photo which was obtained covertly several months earlier to use as the circulating missing persons report to other police and UK authorities.
Response Q6
Records Management unit follow Management of Police Information Retention/ Deletion Guidance in respect of Missing Person Records.
Where a person has been found following an inquiry- records will be retained for a 6 year clear period. Where a missing person is still outstanding- records will be retained indefinitely.
Outside of such guidance, where a person subject to such an inquiry submits a request for their records to be destroyed then this will be considered by a senior officer, giving regard to the status of the inquiry, and any identified on going policing risks. If no such risks are identified then deletion is usually facilitated. Where risks are identified and there is a clear policing purpose in retaining the information then requests for deletion may be refused.
Applicants always have a right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office where policing decisions can be scrutinised
Request Q7:
Does Dyfed Powys police ask the UK border control to put out alerts about individuals for non-criminal purposes, in order to be receiving their information of when they will exit & enter the UK at it's ports of entry/exit.
Clarification sought from requestor
Can you please clarify what you mean by non-criminal purposes.
Clarification received
A person has the freedom of movement and this is a definitive human right.
A person released on bail pending investigation can travel freely and have the freedom of movement, so law enforcement cannot approach the person and a) prevent them from leaving or b) use their exit information and share it with 3rd parties i.e partners, relatives, friends of an individual as this is a person’s personal data.
Also, when a person enters the country’s borders, unless they are suspected of a crime or an investigation, then it would not be usual to gather information of their entry into the country and to share it without any prohibition with 3rd parties. Ie. Partners, relatives, friends OR any person that does not have a legal right to obtain their information.
So, to clarify, if it is known that police officers are doing the aforementioned i.e sharing a persons entry and exit data with 3rd party individuals without consent, then wouldn’t this be illegal conduct of the police officers, because isn’t this a breach of a persons personal data?
It also would imply that the police officers are obtaining their information through the misuse of the police systems and databases. Or it might imply that the border force agents are sharing their information through misuse or process, is this correct?
Please could you answer the following:
a) Using what means might dyfed Powys police obtain a persons entry and exit data from the UK ports of entry or exit, ie. Airports?
b) Would they need to use RIPA powers or are there any other powers which they could rely on to obtain a persons exit and entry info?
c) Could they approach airlines that the individual has been suspected of flying with for eg the airline passenger list or incoming or outgoing flights?
d) And, if they approached airlines then wouldn’t this be confidential information that the airlines are not allowed to share with police, unless, the purpose is to arrest someone?
I would like to rephrase my question and ask the following:
E) If a person is under bail pending investigation, and the police seize a persons passport or travel documents for the purpose of the investigation, then wouldn’t this infringe on the definitive human right to freedom of movement because by seizing a persons passport of travel documents, then they are unable to travel without it and the law already states that persons are free to travel, and enter and exit the uk even during a criminal investigation, unless there has been a trial date etc. So wouldn’t this be illegal conduct or misconduct from the police officers that had seized the persons passport and not provided it back to them during the period that they were bailed?
Response Q7:
Police work with partners in the prevention and detection of crime
Request Q8:
Does Dyfed Powys police contact the airline companies and ask them for boarding information of invididuals whom are exiting the UK? and, do you request for copies of tickets/receipts/invoices as proof of financial records for the airline tickets purchased, airline services etc? If so, Why would you do this, if this is not for criminal purposes?
Clarification sought from requestor
Can you confirm that you want to know what reasons Dyfed Powys Police might contact airline companies for boarding information etc if they are not seeking that information due to a criminal investigation?
Clarification received
Yes, I can confirm this is the correct question asked.
Why would police contact airlines if they have no suspicious to believe that the person has committed an offense or is going to.
Response Q8:
See CPIA guidance, all reasonable and proportionate lines of enquiry are conducted in a criminal investigation.
Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act Code of Practice - GOV.UK
It should be noted that as a result of the systems adopted by Dyfed-Powys Police in relation to the recording of such information that the information released may or may not be accurate.
(This is a response under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and disclosed on 26/11/2024)