Guidance

Home Office Crime Research and Police and Fire research – Privacy Notice

Updated 18 November 2022

Contact

Crime Analysis Unit and Police and Fire Analysis Unit– 2nd floor Peel
2 Marsham Street
London.
SW1P 4DF

crimeandpolicestats@homeoffice.gov.uk and fireresearch@homeoffice.gov.uk

1. Background

One function of the Home Office is to process and analyse a variety of data provided by external organisations. The data are provided to the Home Office for research and statistical purposes.

Individuals have the right to know how, and for what purpose, the data are being collected, held and used. The processing must have a lawful basis which, in this case, is that the processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest to meet a function of the Crown, a minister of the Crown or a government department. This Privacy Notice explains how the Home Office uses personal data provided by these organisations.

2. What data do we collect?

The Home Office receives data relevant to crime, policing and fire from a variety of organisations, for example, His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services, National Health Service, Police forces, Fire and Rescue services, the National Fire Chiefs’ Council and the National Crime Agency. These data sometimes include personal data such as location, and special categories of personal data, such as ethnicity. We also get location data from Landmark Solutions and Ordinance Survey which while on their own do not contain personal data, if matched with other datasets, these might indirectly allow an individual to be identified. The Home Office is responsible for ensuring that all data are processed in line with data protection legislation.

3. How do we collect your data?

Data are usually submitted via aggregate data returns though occasionally record level data are required for analytical purposes. This privacy notice covers instances where aggregated data are shared which may be classed as personal data due to small numbers and a high degree of granularity, or the inclusion of special category data such as ethnicity. We may also collect data on an ad hoc basis for a specific project and we may download data from open-source 3rd party websites for analytical purposes.

4. Under what legal basis do we collect your data?

The Home Office will rely on the legal basis specified in Article 6 (1) (e) of the UK GDPR. “Processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller.”

Where sensitive or ‘special categories’ of personal data or data on criminal convictions and offences is collected, a separate condition for processing under Article 9 (2) (j) of the UK GDPR will apply.

“Processing is necessary for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes in accordance with Article 89(1) (as supplemented by section 19 of the 2018 Act) based on domestic law.”

5. How do we store your data?

Data are stored in Excel spreadsheets or SQL databases on secure government networks. Access to these data is controlled and restricted to analytical staff in the Home Office who have been security cleared. Where requested by the supplying organisation, only named analytical staff will have access to their data. Additionally, Home Office IT staff and contractors responsible for managing the IT systems have access to the databases for maintenance purposes only.

Personal data received will be held for research and statistical purposes. Data retention periods will vary and will be specified in individual data sharing agreements but are usually within around 1 to 5 years. They will be retained for the specified period, with an intention to review the data regularly to ensure that they are still required. If no longer needed, data will be destroyed in a safe manner.

6. How do we use your data?

The majority of data received are used for ad hoc research or ongoing monitoring of current crime patterns, such as the recent rise in serious violence, and to inform Home Office policy. For internal reporting, where appropriate, disclosure control methods will be applied to ensure individuals cannot be identified. These data are generally not published externally by the Home Office but may be published by the supplying organisations.

7. Why, and with whom, do we share this information?

Data collected from these organisations will occasionally be shared with other government departments, police forces, fire and rescue services, other law enforcement agencies and academics, though only following approval from the supplying organisation.

For more information on how we look after your information please see the [Home Office Annual Data Requirement (ADR) data-Privacy Information Notice] (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-office/about/personal-information-charter) for the Home Office. This PIC includes details on the legislation under which we hold and process your personal information and the organisations with whom we may share data.

8. How does this affect you?

The information shared is handled with care in accordance with the law. We are collecting and sharing your information to help us understand better the role and demand on the police forces and fire and rescue services and to inform crime, policing, fire and rescue policy and future service provision.

9. What are your data protection rights?

A lot of the projects use police force data collected by the Home Office under the Annual Data Requirement (ADR). Information on rights relating to police force data can be found at Home Office Annual Data Requirement (ADR) data – Privacy Information Notice. A lot of fire and rescue-focused research projects use fire incidents records collected by the Home Office through the Incident Recording System (IRS). Information on rights relating to fire and rescue incident data can be found at Fire and Rescue Service Incident Recording System Privacy Information Notice.

As third-party recipients of your data, the Home Office will usually refer requests to the organisation that supplied the data, and they will respond to you within 30 days. Where the organisation(s) make amendments to your data it is expected that, they will then submit updates to the Home Office.

The right to access You have the right to request copies of your personal data. The organisation(s) will provide copies unless a valid legal exemption is applied.

The right to rectification You have the right to request amendments or updates to be made to your personal data, where you believe the data are incorrect or incomplete.

The right to restrict processing You have the right to request that the Home Office restricts the processing of your personal data under certain circumstances, for example while you are awaiting a response to a request to amend or delete your data.

The right to object to processing You have the right to object to the Home Office processing your personal data, under certain conditions. In almost all cases, we process data for research or statistical purposes necessary for the performance of a public task, and under these circumstances we are not required to comply with an objection. We will consider all requests though, and to assist us in our decision-making, it is helpful if you state clearly what harm you believe may be caused by the processing of your data. We would weigh this against the benefits of processing the data.

If you would like to exercise any of these rights, report a concern or find out further information on the personal information we collect and process in the Home Office please see the Home Office’s Personal Information Charter. The PIC includes contact details for the Data Protection Officer at the Home Office.

10. Reviewing the privacy notice

We regularly review our PNs to ensure they are up to date particularly in terms of the organisations from whom we receive data and we would welcome any feedback on this PN to feed into our review process. Additionally, testing out whether our PNs are clear and understandable and easy to access for data subjects is an important part of the review of the PNs. To leave us feedback please email us at crimeandpolicestatistics@homeoffice.gov.uk or fireresearch@homeoffice.gov.uk.

11. If you want to know more

Your personal information will be held and processed by the Home Office based across two sites, at Lunar House, 14th Floor, 40 Wellesley Road, CR9 2BY and 2 Marsham Street, London, SW1P 4DF. The Home Office is the joint controller of this information, along with the organisation that supplied the data.

If you need more information on how your personal information is being processed by crime analysts within the Crime Analysis Unit, or by policing analysts from the Policing and Fire Analysis Unit, e-mail crimeandpolicestatistics@homeoffice.gov.uk. For more information on how your personal information is being processed by fire and rescue analysts within the Policing and Fire Analysis unit, e-mail fireresearch@homeoffice.gov.uk.

Contact details for the Home Office’s Data Protection Officer

Office of the DPO,
Peel Building,
2 Marsham Street,
London.
SW1P 4DF

Email: dpo@homeoffice.gov.uk

Telephone number: 020 7035 6999

If you are unhappy with any aspect of this privacy notice, or how your personal information is being processed, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office.