Newsletter
8th July 2011 Police databases: how over 900 staff abused their access
For the first time, Big Brother Watch has uncovered the true extent to which Police abuse their access to confidential databases.
Our report, released this week, follows allegations yesterday that former Downing Street Head of Communications Andy Coulson paid the Police in order to receive privileged information.
Between 2007 and 2010:
- 243 Police officers and staff received criminal convictions for breaching the Data Protection Act (DPA).
- 98 Police officers and staff had their employment terminated for breaching the DPA.
- 904 Police officers and staff were subjected to internal disciplinary procedures for breaching the DPA.
A full breakdown of results by local police authority can be found here. Commenting on the research findings Daniel Hamilton, Director of Big Brother Watch said:
“The allegations surrounding Andy Coulson are just the tip of the iceberg. “It’s astonishing to think that 904 Police officers and support staff across England have faced disciplinary action for abusing their access to confidential systems. 243 have received criminal convictions for their actions, while 98 have lost their jobs. “Our investigation shows that not only have Police employees been found to have run background records checks on friends and possible partners, but some have been convicted for passing sensitive information to criminal gangs and drug dealers. This is at best hugely intrusive and, at worse, downright dangerous. “Police forces must adopt a zero tolerance approach to this kind of behaviour. Those found guilty of abusing their position should be sacked on the spot.”
The areas with the largest number of officers and Police staff who had their employment terminated for DPA breaches since 2007 were: Kent (10), Merseyside (7), West Midlands (7), Northumbria (6), Derbyshire (5) and Humberside (5).
The areas with the largest number of officers and Police staff subjected to internal disciplinary procedures for DPA breaches since 2007 were: Merseyside (208), West Midlands (83), Humberside (62), South Yorkshire (42), and Northumbria (39).
Media Highlights
 Daniel Hamilton on BBC Radio Cumbria, Kent, Devon and Cornwall, Sheffield and Newcastle discussing Police abusing their access to the Police National Computer.
Daniel Hamilton on Granada TV, Central TV, Tyne and Tees TV, Yorkshire TV and Meridian TV discussing Police abusing their access to the Police National Computer.
Evening Standard - £1.1m in parking ticket refunds as council uses 'wrong cameras'
I t is estimated that up to £10 million of tickets are issued city-wide by the CCTV vehicles every year.
There are 43 cars, usually Smart or Toyota, equipped with CCTV in at least 24 boroughs, according to civil liberties group Big Brother Watch.
Daily Mail - Yahoo condemned over plans to snoop on emails on behalf of advertisers
 Daniel Hamilton, the director of Big Brother Watch, agreed and called on Yahoo to think again.
He said: 'It's extremely disappointing that Yahoo has opted to intrude on privacy in this way. 'Web users have a right not to see their personal messages trawled through in order to boost Yahoo's advertising revenue. 'Yahoo should abandon these changes before the crucial bond of trust between it and its users is damaged beyond repair.'
The Independent - Police abused access to databases
 The latest figures were released to campaign group Big Brother Watch following a request under Freedom of Information (FoI) laws to the 43 forces in England and Wales. Daniel Hamilton, director of Big Brother Watch, said:
"Our investigation shows that not only have police employees been found to have run background records checks on friends and possible partners, but some have been convicted for passing sensitive information to criminal gangs and drug dealers.
"This is at best hugely intrusive and, at worst, downright dangerous. "Police forces must adopt a zero tolerance approach to this kind of behaviour. Those found guilty of abusing their position should be sacked on the spot."
The Guardian - Figures highlight data breaches by police
 New figures released to the privacy lobby group Big Brother Watch show that 904 police employees have been subjected to international disciplinary procedures for breaching the Data Protection Act (DPA) over the past three years, with 243 receiving criminal convictions and 98 being dismissed.
Commenting on the findings, Daniel Hamilton, director of Big Brother Watch, said: "Our investigation shows that not only have police employees been found to have run background records checks on friends and possible partners, but some have been convicted for passing sensitive information to criminal gangs and drug dealers. This is at best hugely intrusive and, at worse, downright dangerous."
Birmingham Mail - West Midlands Police officers collared for data branches
 Daniel Hamilton, director of civil liberties group Big Brother Watch which carried out the research, labelled the breaches hugely intrusive to people and, worse, downright dangerous. He said: “Our investigation shows that not only have Police employees been found to have run background records checks on friends and possible partners, but some have been convicted for passing sensitive information to criminal gangs and drug dealers.
“This is at best hugely intrusive and, worse, downright dangerous. Police forces must adopt a zero tolerance approach to this kind of behaviour. Those found guilty of abusing their position should be sacked on the spot.”
Tech Eye - Cisco draws flak for China surveillance project
Daniel Hamilton, director at Big Brother Watch, tells us he's outraged at the prospect. Speaking to TechEye, he says: "While it’s in the interests of Western companies to trade with China, actively assisting the regime in its efforts to control its citizens is nothing short of shameful.
 "Beyond the stories of grandiose economic developments and promises of human rights reforms, China remains a fascist dictatorship in which pro-democracy activists are brutalised and freedom of speech is crushed.
"Firms involved in selling surveillance equipment to vile dictatorships such as that in force in China should be ashamed of themselves".
Blogs of the Week
 Until yesterday, the News of the World phone-hacking fiasco had failed to truly enter the national consciousness. The majority of print media in Britain were keen to avoid reporting on it, and most of the ‘victims’ were celebrities whose regular publicity-seeking appearances in newspapers and magazines can sometimes be seen as a rejection of their own privacy rights The revelation that the mobile phone of the kidnapped teenager Milly Dowler could have been hacked has changed the situation dramatically.
 MPs table motion for 'internet bill of rights'
A cross-party collection of MPs have tabled an early day motion calling for new data protection controls to protect people against the rise in targeted advertising. The thirteen MPs signed the Commons motion which suggests an ‘internet bill of rights’ along with giving more power to the Information Commissioner’s Office to deal with privacy issues.
Following the publishing of the ICO’s annual report this morning, the European Parliament has approved reforms to the Commission’s Data Protection Directive of 1995. These are designed to give more control to individuals over any information held on them by organisations and companies, as well as placing a responsibility on those bodies to inform people of any data breaches which occur involving their personal information.
The Information Commissioner, Christopher Graham, appeared on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme this morning to discuss the unwillingness of private companies to accept free data protection audits from the ICO. In their annual report, released today, the ICO revealed around a third of the 603 breaches reported in the 2010/11 period occurred in the private sector.
Microsoft has revealed that EU users of its upcoming cloud services may have their personal information intercepted by US law enforcers. Because of the USA Patriot Act, law enforcement authorities in the US have the right to access the personal data which is held by US-based companies.
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European Parliament approves reforms to Data Protection Directive