Crime Reduction - Helping to Reduce Crime in Your Arrea
Guidance on Information Sharing
There are two types of information that a NHW scheme may need to share.
- Information about its members - the co-ordinator needs to have a record of members' names and contact details. Under the Data Protection Act, this information cannot be passed to others without the permission of the person to whom the details belong.
- Information on suspects or criminals that the police may pass to a NHW scheme.
Further information about the sharing of both types of information can be found in the ACPO Policing and Watch Schemes Guidance on Information Sharing (August 2001).
The guidance is currently being revised. ACPO has just finished negotiating with the ICO on this guidance. The updated version will be available on this webpage later in 2008.
To know more about the Data Protection Act, see Information Commissioner's Office