Privacy notice

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The use and disclosure of personal data is governed in the United Kingdom by the Data Protection Act 2018 (the Act). Under the Act the Chief Constable of Cheshire Constabulary is registered as a data controller. In the rest of this privacy notice, the Chief Constable of Cheshire Constabulary is referred to as we or us.

This privacy notice explains:

how we collect, store, use, disclose, retain and destroy personal data, including through the website at www.cheshire.police.uk (those activities are also referred to as processing personal data)
the steps we take to ensure personal data we process is protected properly
the rights individuals have when we process their personal data

Website Privacy

We will treat information you provide to us in using this website in confidence and we will not disclose it to third parties unless we are required to do so by law, or as explained in this privacy notice.

We gather information about site usage to help the development and improvement of services to the public, and to protect the integrity of our systems from malicious users. We also gather information through the various functions available on the site that allow you to provide us with information (such as online forms and the live-chat function) for the purposes described later in this privacy notice. At the moment this information consists of:

information obtained by our content management system to examine what people are searching for, what they find, and occasions where no results are returned, and which does not identify individual users;
information provided by users through online forms (for purposes including crime reporting, crime reporting advice and information, anti-social behaviour reporting, 'Clare's Law' applications, road traffic incident reporting, and firearms licence applications) and live-chat functionality, which may identify individual users and other individuals depending on what information users enter (it is possible we will be able to access information you enter on an online form even if you do not submit it, because of the way the website is set up to automatically save part-complete forms periodically)
statistical information obtained using Google Analytics which does not identify individual users (more information about this is in the 'How do we use cookies?' section of this privacy notice)
your IP address and details of which browser you are using, which we record when you use our online forms
your IP address, used to identify your location if you use any geo-location features on this website, and which we only use to show you relevant content, and which we do not store or share with third parties.

What is personal data?

Personal data is any information we handle that relates to an identified or identifiable natural person. An 'identifiable natural person' is anyone who can be identified, directly or indirectly from information, including by reference to a name, identification number, location data, online identifier or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person.

Our Contact Details and Data Protection Officer

Our Information Compliance Department manages our data protection compliance.

We take our data protection responsibilities seriously. We take great care to ensure we process your personal data properly to maintain your trust and confidence. You can contact our Data Protection Officer if you have any questions or concerns about how we process your personal data.

Post:

Data Protection Officer
Cheshire Constabulary HQ
Clemonds Hey
Oakmere Road
Winsford
Cheshire
CW7 2UA

Telephone: 01606 36 2384
Email: [email protected]

Why do we process your personal data?

We have a legal duty to uphold the law, prevent crime, bring offenders to justice, and protect the public. To do this we process your personal information for carrying out a range of activities commonly known as the ‘policing purpose’. These include:

preventing and detecting crime
apprehending and prosecuting offenders
protecting life and property
preserving order
maintaining law and order
assisting the public
safeguarding national security
defending civil proceedings
fulfilling any other police duties or responsibilities arising under common or statute law

We also process personal data for purposes in support of the policing purpose. These include:

administration of current and former employees (detailed in Employee Privacy Notice, DEI Privacy Notice, PSD Employee Privacy Notice, PND Data Wash)
recruitment (detailed in Employee Privacy Notice)
staff/pension administration, occupational health and welfare
insurance management
vehicle and transport management
payroll and benefits management
vetting (detailed in dedicated public and employee privacy notices)
management of information technology systems
legal services
information provision, including audit and inspection
licensing and registration
pensioner administration
performance management
sports and recreation
procurement
planning, projects and programmes (detailed in Events Planning Privacy Notice)
system testing and fault resolution
security
health and safety management
contractors, and volunteers
property and asset management
financial management
media relations management (including corporate events)
complaints handling, including conduct, gifts and gratuity matters
research, including surveys
provision of educational programmes and support

Whose personal data do we process?

We process information relating to a range of individuals, including:

victims of crime
witnesses to crime
people convicted of an offence
people suspected of committing an offence
complainants, correspondents and enquirers
advisors, consultants and other professional experts
suppliers
current and former employees, cadets (download Cadets privacy policy), agents, temporary and casual workers, volunteers, potential members of staff.
children and young people (detailed in our Children's, Cadets and Op Protected and Mini Police Privacy Notices)
representatives of individuals in this list, such as parents, other relatives, guardians, beneficiaries and people with power of attorney

What types of personal data do we process?

We may process personal data relating to or consisting of the following categories:

personal details (such as name, address and biographical details)
contact details
family, lifestyle and social circumstances
Employment, education and training details
racial or ethnic origin
political opinions
religious or other beliefs of a similar nature
trade union membership
physical or mental health or condition, both declared and suspected
sexual life or sexual orientation
offences (including alleged offences)
criminal proceedings, outcomes and sentences
physical identifiers (including DNA, fingerprints and other genetic or biometric samples)
unique identification numbers and unique reference numbers
sound and visual images (eg from body worn cameras, live video streaming, CCTV, corporate and public dash cam footage or drone footage)
location data (eg live subject location via GoodSAM application and GPS tags)
financial details
goods or services provided
licences or permits held (eg driving licences or firearms certificates)
criminal intelligence
information identifying user vulnerability, persistent targeting, and/or hate crime status
references to manual records or files
information relating to health and safety
complaint, incident, and accident details
opinions and assessments of officers and staff in relation to individuals dealt with

The types of personal data we process will vary depending on the purpose. We aim to process the minimum amount of personal data necessary for the relevant purpose. You should not assume that we hold personal data in all of the categories identified for every person whose personal data we process.

The categories identified may not be complete as occasionally we may gather personal data in other categories for the purposes described.

Where you provide your information within an online form on our website, you may provide some information which will not be used by Cheshire Constabulary. This is because the forms have been developed nationally for all UK Police forces and some forces require more information than others to fulfil their purposes. Cheshire Constabulary will only extract the information which is required from these forms to fulfil our purposes.

Where do we get the personal data we process?

We collect personal data from a variety of sources, including:

individuals who visit the website and interact with it (including by filling in and submitting forms), and their relatives, guardians and other persons associated with them
businesses (including security companies, and other supplies of goods and services, including processors) and other private sector organisations working with the police in anti-crime strategies
voluntary sector organisations
local authorities, national and local government departments and agencies (including the Home Office, HM Revenue and Customs, the Coroner (Privacy Notice - Coroners CC.pdf) and private safeguarding agencies)
other law enforcement agencies and bodies (including international ones)
partner agencies involved in crime and disorder strategies
legal representatives, prosecuting authorities, courts, and prisons
licensing authorities
approved organisations and people working with the police
ombudsmen and regulatory bodies (including the Independent Office for Police Conduct, and His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services)
auditors
Police and Crime Commissioners
emergency services
current, past or prospective employers of individuals
healthcare, social and welfare advisers or practitioners
education, training establishments and examining bodies
business associates and other professional advisors
our employees, agents, and other temporary and casual works
persons making enquiries or complaints
financial organisations and advisors, and credit reference agencies
survey and research organisations
trade, employer associations; and professional bodies
the media
our own CCTV systems and body worn cameras
the insurance industry
devices which have been subject to data extraction by police

What is our lawful basis for processing personal data?

Where we process personal data for the purposes of the prevention, investigation, detection or prosecution of criminal offences or the execution of criminal penalties, including the safeguarding against and the prevention of threats to public security our legal basis is that it is necessary for a task which is carried out for the law enforcement purposes. This task will be necessary for the performance of a function, power or duty conferred by an enactment.

Where we process personal data for other non-law enforcement purposes our legal basis for processing will vary depending on the circumstances. Ordinarily, the relevant legal basis is that the processing is:

necessary for performing a contract
necessary to comply with a legal obligation (including employment law)
in the public interest or for official purposes
necessary to protect your vital interests
in our legitimate interests or the interests of a third party

and on occasion

with your explicit consent (which you may withdraw at any time).

Please see Data Protection Safeguards Policy which explains the lawful conditions we rely on when processing sensitive, special category and criminal offence data relating to people. This policy also outlines how we ensure this type of data is safeguarded in compliance with the DPA.

What security measures do we use when processing your personal data?

We take the security of all personal data under our control seriously. We comply with our legal obligations regarding security, relevant parts of the ISO27001 Information Security Standard, and where appropriate the College of Policing Authorised Professional Practice guidance on Information Assurance.

We ensure that appropriate policy, training, technical and procedural measures are in place, including audit and inspection, to protect our manual and electronic information systems from data loss and misuse. We only permit access when there is a legitimate reason and under strict guidelines on what use may be made of any personal data contained within them. We continuously manage and enhance our compliance with relevant standards and guidance to achieve adequate and up-to-date personal data security.

What disclosures do we make of your personal data?

We may disclose personal data to a wide variety of recipients in any part of the world (including outside of the United Kingdom and the European Economic Area), including to those from whom we originally obtain personal data. Recipients may include:

law enforcement agencies
businesses (including security companies, and other supplies of goods and services, including processors) and other private sector organisations working with the police in anti-crime strategies
partner agencies working on crime reduction or safeguarding initiatives
agencies and other third parties concerned with the safeguarding of and investigation relating to international and domestic national security
local authorities, national and local government departments and agencies (including the Home Office, HM Revenue and Customs, the Coroner (Privacy Notice - Coroners CC.pdf), the Serious Fraud Office, the Child Maintenance Service, the National Fraud Initiative, and private safeguarding agencies)
Police and Crime Commissioners, including to those who audit on behalf of the PCC
legal representatives, prosecuting authorities, courts, prisons, and other partners in the criminal justice arena;
victim support service providers
bodies or individuals working on our behalf
authorities involved in offender management
ombudsmen, auditors and regulatory authorities
other bodies or individuals where required under any legislation, rule of law, or court order
actuarial valuers and pension providers
other bodies or individuals where necessary to prevent harm to individuals
the media, including public disclosures via social media
the insurance industry
the force museum

We decide on disclosure case-by-case, disclosing only the personal information that is necessary and proportionate to a specific purpose and with appropriate controls and safeguards in place.

Where you have provided your personal data to us for the purposes of the police constable recruitment process, your data, including biographical monitoring information, will be shared with the College of Policing.

It will be stored on their secure network or within their Assessment Information Management System (AIMS). From this information, your name, email address and candidate reference number will be uploaded to the new online assessment platform for constable recruitment and shared with the third party provider hosting the system in order to progress your application virtually.

Because of the way the website is set up, all completed online forms are automatically sent securely to the central police IT team responsible for delivery of the National Police Chiefs' Council Digital Policing Portfolio, as well as us.

If we make disclosures outside of the United Kingdom and the European Economic Area to locations which do not have as extensive data protection laws we ensure that there are appropriate safeguards in place to certify that the personal data disclosed is adequately protected.

How long do we retain your personal data?

We keep your personal data for as long as necessary for the particular purpose or purposes for which we hold it.

If we place any of your personal data on the Police National Computer it will be retained, reviewed and deleted in accordance with agreed national retention periods, which are subject to periodic change.

We will retain records containing personal data relating to criminal investigations, intelligence, public protection, and custody in accordance with the College of Policing guidance on the Management of Police Information.

The College of Policing provides the minimum standards for the retention and disposal most of police records. Other records containing personal information relating to intelligence, custody, crime, firearms, child abuse investigations, domestic violence will be retained in accordance with the Management of Police Information 2006. Records held by the Professional Standards Department (PSD) are held in accordance with the PSD Retention Schedule.

What are your rights over your personal data we process, and how can you exercise them?

Under the Act you have a number of rights that you can exercise in relation to personal data we process about you. You do not have to pay to exercise your rights

We sometimes need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity and ensure your authority to exercise the rights.

Right of Access: You can request access to the personal data we hold about you free of charge. Normally we will provide it within one month of receipt of your request unless an exemption applies. You can request access to the personal data we hold about you using the contact details in this privacy notice.

Right to be Informed: Subject to restrictions, you are entitled to be told how we obtain your personal information and how we use, retain, and store it, and who we share it with. This privacy notice gives you that information, as well as telling you what your rights are under the relevant laws.

Right to Rectification: If we hold personal data about you that is inaccurate or incomplete you have the right to ask us to correct it. You can ask us to correct your personal data using the contact details in this privacy notice. We will reply to you within one month unless the request is complex.

Right to Request Erasure: Under certain circumstances you have the right to ask us to delete your personal data to prevent its continued processing where there is no justification for us to retain it. The circumstances most likely to apply are:

where holding your personal data is no longer necessary in relation to the purpose for which we originally collected and processed it;
where there is a legal obligation to erase the data;
where you withdraw your consent to us holding your personal data if we are relying on your consent to hold it.
where the holding of your personal data was collected for a law enforcement purpose and infringes any of the data protection principles or safeguards.

The right of erasure does not apply if we are processing your personal data:

to comply with a legal obligation
to avoid obstructing an official or legal inquiry, investigation or procedure
to avoid prejudicing the prevention, detection, investigation or prosecution of criminal offences or the execution of criminal penalties
for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority
for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims
to exercise the right of freedom of expression and information
for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific research, historical research or statistical purposes where erasure is likely to make it impossible to carry out or seriously impair that processing.

If you want to ask us to delete your personal data you can do so using the contact details in this privacy notice. We will respond to you within one month unless the request is complex.

Right to Restrict Processing: Under certain circumstances you have the right to ask us to restrict the processing of your personal data. This may be in cases where:

you are contesting the accuracy your personal data while we are verifying the accuracy
your information has been unlawfully processed and you oppose its erasure and have requested a restriction instead
where we no longer require your personal data but you need it to establish, exercise or defend a legal claim and do not want us to delete it
Where we are required to erase personal data but it is required for evidence purposes (law enforcement)

Where it relates to law enforcement and we are unable to ascertain its accuracy. You can ask us to restrict processing of your personal data using the contact details in this privacy notice.

Right to Data Portability: You have the right to obtain and reuse your personal information for your own purposes, transferring it from one environment to another. This right only applies to personal data provided by an individual for non-law enforcement purposes, and where the processing is based on their consent or for the performance of a contract and when that processing is carried out by automated means. If you wish to discuss this right, you can do so using the contact details in this privacy notice.

Right to Object: You have the right to object to:

processing based on legitimate interests or performance of a task in the public interest and or exercise of official authority
processing of your information for scientific and historical research and statistics
direct marketing.

Any objection must be on grounds relating to your particular situation. If you want to exercise your right to object you can do so using the contact details in this privacy notice.

Rights related to automated decision making and profiling: You have the right not to be subject to a decision when it is based on solely automated processing (including profiling) and which produces a legal effect or similar significant effect on you. This right does not apply if the decision is authorised by law, is necessary for entering into or performance of a contract, or is based on your consent.

We apply an automated decision to our E-Recruitment System when filtering out those who do not meet eligibility criteria to work in the UK. These criteria have been written in accordance with legislation, such as the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996. If do not agree with the outcome following an automated decision, you have the right to ask our HR team for this to be reviewed by a human.

We are unlikely to carry out any other automated decision making because our processes involve some type of human interaction and decision-making. Profiling is any form of automated processing of personal data intended to evaluate certain personal aspects about you to predict things about you such as your behaviour, interests, movements or performance at work. We do not currently carry out automated profiling. If you have any questions about automated decision-making or automated profiling you can raise them using the contact details in this privacy notice.

Right to withdraw consent: You have the right to withdraw your consent where we have relied on consent as a lawful basis to use or share your data. We will explain this to you at the time we collect it.

Right to complaint to the regulator (the ICO): You are entitled to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office if the Constabulary has not resolved a data protection concern in line with good practice. The ICO can be contacted via their website: ico.org.uk or telephone: 0303 123 1113.

Date of last update and changes

We last updated this privacy notice on 20th March 2023. We keep this privacy policy under regular review and update it if any of the information in it changes.