Data Protection / Disclosures
The Data Protection Act 1998 was brought into force on 1st March 2000 and works in two ways. It gives individuals certain rights, including the right to access their personal information. It also says those organisations which record and use personal information must be open about how the information is used, and follow the eight principles of good information handling known as the Data Protection Principles.
Data Protection Principles
The data protection principles require that data must be:
- Processed fairly and lawfully
- Processed for specified purposes
- Adequate, relevant and not excessive
- Accurate and up-to-date
- Kept no longer than necessary
- Processed in accordance with the rights of the data subject
- Secure
- Not transferred to countries outside EEA without adequate protection
For more information on how Cumbria Constabulary use your personal information Please Select Here.
Subject Access
The Subject Access provisions of the Data Protection Act give an individual the right to have a copy of any personal data held about them, subject to certain exemptions.
Should you wish to know what information (if any) Cumbria Constabulary holds about you, you should submit a request in writing. To help facilitate this and to ensure that you provide all the information needed to process your application you may wish to submit your request on a Subject Access form. Your request should be, accompanied by a £10 fee made payable to The Police and Crime Commissioner for Cumbria and copies of identification documents which confirm your identity.
You can ask for information that may be held about you on the Police National Computer (PNC) by applying to the ACPO Criminal Records Office (ACRO).
(1) Select Here to access personal information about yourself held on the Police National Computer, such as convictions, cautions & juvenile warnings/reprimands. These checks are undertaken by ACRO on behalf of Cumbria Constabulary. To order a form via telephone call ACRO on 0845 6013999, or if calling from outside the UK, dial +441962 871111
(Monday – Friday 8.30-16.30).
(2) Select Here to access personal information that may be held about yourself on Cumbria Constabulary local records such as incident logs, crime reports, statements, officer’s reports, criminal files, photos etc.
Please note – If you wish to submit a request to ACRO AND to Cumbria Constabulary, you only need pay only one fee, if you are making the requests at the same time. The fee must be forwarded with the application to ACRO and on the Cumbria Constabulary application tick the box in section 2 of the form indicating that you have paid the fee to ACRO (this declaration will be verified prior to local information being disclosed).
Once we have received your request, the fee of £10 if applicable, and we are satisfied with the proof of identity you have given us, we will provide a response within 40 days.
Application forms and further guidance are also available by post from:
Data Control Unit
Professional Standards Department
Police Headquarters
Carleton Hall, Penrith
Cumbria. CA10 2AU
Tel: 101 and ask for Data Control Unit
Email: subjectaccess@cumbria.police.uk
Please note that once Cumbria Constabulary have received your completed application (application for “locally held” information) the process to provide you with any information to which you are entitled may, in accordance with the Act, take up to 40 days.
Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS Check, previously a CRB check)
The 'police check' or 'disclosure' carried out as part of a job application to work with children or vulnerable adults, known as a DBS check (Disclosure and Barring Service), is a separate procedure to a subject access check. Further details about DBS checks can be found by Selecting Here.
Police Certificate
Do you need a Visa / Police Certificate? These are undertaken by ACRO for travel to America, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Bahamas, Belgium, Chile and South Africa. Please Select Here for further information.
Family Court Disclosures
Where police information is required specifically for Family Court Proceedings, private and local authority solicitors, and in some cases, parties to those proceedings, may apply to the Police. The disclosure of relevant information may be made where consideration is being given by the Courts to children being taken into care or custody/access rights. An application form and a fee is required to be completed before consideration is given to any disclosure. For an application form or further information please contact: CumbriaDisclosureUnit@cumbria.police.uk
Road Traffic Collisions
Where police information is required in relation to a road traffic collision, a request should be sent by email to: hqcollisionenquiries@cumbria.police.uk . Please note that dependent upon the information requested a fee may be payable for the provision of information.