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Police ordered to delete criminal records
FOUR UK POLICE FORCES have been ordered to delete criminal records dating back up to 30 years. The police have been ruled to be breaching the Data Protection Act by keeping records described by Information Commissioner Richard Thomas as 'irrelevant'.
The Old Bill is appealing against the ruling and says it has no plans to delete the data until that appeal is completed in 2008.
People applying for jobs were being rejected on the basis of criminal record checks showing such heinous crimes as the theft of a 99p packet of ham in 1984 and a 13 year old girl convicted of a minor assault who was told she would have a criminal record 'until her 100th birthday, when, presumably, she could expect a telegram and full pardon from Her Majesty the Queen.
In 1978, John Webb was 16 when he was caught using fake 1p and 10p coins in a fairground slot machine. Now aged 45, Webb complained after the conviction turned up during a job application.
The Information Commissioner told West Midlands, Humberside, Northumbria and Staffordshire forces that their records were in breach of data protection laws, adding that the data was 'no longer relevant' and that the information was of 'no possible use for policing purposes'.
An Association of Chief Police Officers spokesman said it was 'regrettable that the Information Commissioner has decided to go public on a matter that he knows will be subject of an Information Tribunal hearing early in the new year.' µ
L'Inq
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Someone call the cops, these cops are breaking the law!

Can they call the cops in the next district to arrest these cops?

I'm sure there a few lawyers out there who would like to sink their teeth into this, must be a nice amount of damages as a reward.
Minor offenses? That long ago? No repeat offenses? 
Save the file cabinet space and get rid of the records... Hanging on to one time "offenses" like that is ludicrous. 

Then again, If I were an employer, and saw that a now 45 year old had a "lapse in judgment" that long ago I would definitely ignore that particular entry. 

Now records that help to show a pattern of the person repeating the act again and again, Keep those..

I'd hate to think what my auto insurance rates would be if the company looked at every speeding ticket I've had over the last 30 years and held them against me. Even tho I've not received one in over 6 years.

Maybe Her-Majesty could end the BS appeal process and make a phone call.
Tell these "officials" to shut up and follow instructions.
There is no way those crimes should have shown up in a pre-employment background check.

In fact, if IIRC it is actually an offence under the rehabilitation of offenders act for such spent convictions to be revealed.

Yup, looks like it... http://www.lawontheweb.co.uk/rehabact.htm
This again shows why you can't have the police control certain things, they just lack the decency and common sense to know where to draw the line.
And yet often new laws let them run more and more things and people are suppose to trust them to not abuse powers given.
Perhaps a public reaction will reverberate in the circles of lawmakers making them realize this truth now.
And sadly these phenomena can be transposed into most countries on the world today.
So it's "regrettable that the Information Commissioner has decided to go public on a matter..." concerning the public?

This really does confirm, if further confirmation were needed, that the police do not exist to protect the public but to protect commercially owned property even though they are funded, via taxes, by the public.

Perhaps the real problem with the police is that, just as with politicians, the people who are attracted to it want to control other people and not serve them, in complete contradiction of their mandate.

Perhaps the only solution to this state of affairs would be some sort of national service, rather like conscription, for both politicians and the police.
there's really no hiding in the US when it comes to abuse of power. if someone was to point it out, they'd be asking for trouble. it's like the emperors new clothes, we should all smile and bend over. ...what a strange feeling

i've heard it said it's all in how we look at it, tho. if we believe this isn't all that unusual in the course of society and we believe they still do things to protect individuals, we can humble ourselves to the forces of reality and shrug, then drive the speed limit because we want to be safe, not because we know we'll get caught otherwise.
If anyone think's they will delete them need's to go and bang their head against the nearist wall because all they will do is back it all up put it in a safe place and then just say that they'v deleted them, you could'nt trust them to tell the truth if you stuck a gun to their head's they are signed sealed and deliverd to Queen and country ALL of them,including your government.