England: Information watchdog to investigate police and lawyers’ handling of rape complainant data

James Dipple-Johnstone

Techniques used by police and lawyers to trawl through the phones and private data of rape complainants are to be investigated by a watchdog.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has announced it will undertake an inquiry into whether data protection rules are being breached within the criminal justice system.

The investigation has been opened following concerns raised by campaign group Big Brother Watch and others about the way personal data is handled by police, prosecutors and defence lawyers.

James Dipple-Johnstone, the deputy commissioner for operations at the ICO, said it was “crucial that the rights they have in law are upheld in order to maintain confidence in the UK’s criminal justice system and their continued willingness to come forward and report crimes”.

There have been a number of complaints from complainants and victims alleging “excessive use of victims’ personal information in cases of rape and serious sexual assault”.

One concern is the Stafford statement – a consent form that complainants must sign to give police access to their personal data.

“These statements are often signed in the immediate aftermath and shock of the crime, and, we are told, victims can often be unclear as to what they are consenting to and why,” Mr Dipple-Johnstone said.

The ICO has said it will track complainants’ information through the justice system in order to “identify areas where victims’ information is most vulnerable or where processing may be excessive and disproportionate”.

Griff Ferris, the legal and policy officer at Big Brother Watch, said: “We welcome the information commissioner’s announcement of a high-priority investigation into demands for rape victims’ mobile phones and private records.

“We also urge the police and the CPS to take action to protect victims of rape from these digital investigations, which are swamping police in irrelevant information and obstructing the prosecution of potentially dangerous offenders. Treating victims like suspects is an affront to justice and a serious breach of people’s privacy rights. This broken system must change.”

The Crown Prosecution Service has been plagued by allegations this year that it routinely fails to disclose evidence to the defence.