How long is PNC search history held for?

[photosnob]

Reading on here recently I remember one of the Police officers saying misusing the PNC was against the rules so to speak.

Several years ago some information about me was given to a civilian organisation, relating to a PND and other arrest information... Stuff I wasn't charged with - but which would have been held on the PNC It had nothing to do with security checking and was given to a commercial organisation. There was NO way that this information could have come from any other source. I told no one about it. And it included information that only the police could know... Like what I had with me when I was searched at the police station and what I said in interview...

Now the head of security at this organisation was a recently retired DS and was working within the same force area. I have my suspicions I even know the DC who gave it to him. It was Nottinghamshire Police who I believe were responsible for all of this. The head of security has a pretty awful reputation anyway, and if you were to look him up you would find that he has hit the papers a few times for doing nasty stuff... The DC who I suspect gave out the information is quite well known as well. If anyone on here works for Nottinghamshire police she might still be in the robbery team and has a name which is connected to a brand of tea.

I'm not sure I will bother complaining. But I do wonder if the search information would still be on the system? As in who accessed it and why. We are talking about 2010 here. At the time it caused me a lot of upset and led to me having some pretty big problems. I don't have a problem with people doing there job - but the idea that someone maliciously accessed a police computer to cause me harm isn't nice.

I still have the emails from him detailing all the stuff... I re read them recently, and it hit me. At the time I wasn't really in a fit state to realise. Nor did I know that the police just couldn't give out the information to whoever they wanted. But it's all there in black and white... Even down to the time I was arrested. Someone must have given him the printouts of my PNC record.

So how long is the search information held for?

[ReaderScars]

I don't know how long it's held for but I think you can apply to have it deleted if you were released without charge. It seems pretty serious to me that this misuse has led to ramifications later in life even though there was no further action.

Hopefully someone can give you some solid advice.

[Mr GrimNasty]

You can be sued for defamation if you provide enough info. for a person to be identified.

[photosnob]

ReaderScars said:

I don't know how long it's held for but I think you can apply to have it deleted if you were released without charge. It seems pretty serious to me that this misuse has led to ramifications later in life even though there was no further action.

Hopefully someone can give you some solid advice.

The police have a right to hold my information. I was charged and convicted for other stuff. I don't object to that. I object to a police officer giving out copies of that information to her old work buddies to cause me grief - it wasn't even related to his company. It was just done to get one over on me and cause my embarrassment.

For some background - an organisation accused me of doing something. I was connected to this organisation. I didn't actually do it, but the head of security knew that there was no evidence. The next thing I'm getting emails about my past... Which no one else could have known. Some stuff was in the public domain - but certain things only someone with access to the PNC could have found out.

I'm not a complainer about the police. And I know that this is just one officer. But giving out peoples PNC records to your old mates to cause some embarrassment isn't on...

[photosnob]

Mr GrimNasty said:

You can be sued for defamation if you provide enough info. for a person to be identified.

I am willing to take that risk... I know more about this than I've put on here. I don't think the person involved would want it all looking into. On the balance of probabilities I would be fine. In fact I think I could prove it within all reasonable doubt... But that isn't important. What I want to know is if the records are kept.

[Elroy Blue]

If someone has passed PNC info on for private purposes it's the sack and more. (And rightly so)

I have to say, did you head up the Krays or something. You seem to have been involved in more criminal offences than Charles Bronson

[photosnob]

Elroy Blue said:

If someone has passed PNC info on for private purposes it's the sack and more. (And rightly so)

I have to say, did you head up the Krays or something. You seem to have been involved in more criminal offences than Charles Bronson

No not at all. This was actually after I started behaving. But as I've said there is no way it could have come from anyone other than a police officer.

Do you know how long the search information is held for?

[Bigends]

PNC search history is openly available users for 11 months.
Transaction enquiries can be carried out on vehicle and person checks which reveal terminal id and person carrying the check out plus reason for the check being carried out.
Not sure if there is access to check further back than the 11 months

[photosnob]

Bigends said:

PNC search history is openly available users for 11 months.
Transaction enquiries can be carried out on vehicle and person checks which reveal terminal id and person carrying the check out plus reason for the check being carried out.
Not sure if there is access to check further back than the 11 months

Thanks - that was actually what I wanted to hear really. I can forget about it now and move on with my life. When I re read the emails last night it suddenly all hit me. Wasn't nice at all. I was clearing out all the stuff from years ago. All water under the bridge now. Cheers.

[Dibble]

photosnob said:

Bigends said:

PNC search history is openly available users for 11 months.
Transaction enquiries can be carried out on vehicle and person checks which reveal terminal id and person carrying the check out plus reason for the check being carried out.
Not sure if there is access to check further back than the 11 months

Thanks - that was actually what I wanted to hear really. I can forget about it now and move on with my life. When I re read the emails last night it suddenly all hit me. Wasn't nice at all. I was clearing out all the stuff from years ago. All water under the bridge now. Cheers.

Some of the information you've referred to ISN'T held on PNC (property when you were arrested, interview details, etc). That said, that information could have come from other Police systems. I've no idea what Nottinghamshire use, but my force has (for me) a pretty good system, which is generally all linked together. So if I check someone out in our intelligence database, I can get links to any arrests (and consequent disposals), whether they've been the offender, suspect or aggrieved in a crime, whether any vulnerable adult, vulnerable child or domestic referrals have been submitted about them (either informant, aggrieved, witness or offender), addresses, associates, etc, etc. basically, what used to all be separate systems that require multiple searches have, over the years, been linked together so that, in theory, you only need to search once.

The only way to know for sure would be to submit a subject access request, but even then, there are circumstances when information can be withheld (as its not an area I deal with, I'm not clear what those circumstances are).

People passing police information on that shouldn't be (ie it's not subject to a legitimate data protection request or for a legitimate policing purpose) just make life more difficult for me and should be properly dealt with for it, IMHO. They undermine the credibility of the vast majority of honest officers.

[photosnob]

Dibble said:

Some of the information you've referred to ISN'T held on PNC (property when you were arrested, interview details, etc). That said, that information could have come from other Police systems. I've no idea what Nottinghamshire use, but my force has (for me) a pretty good system, which is generally all linked together. So if I check someone out in our intelligence database, I can get links to any arrests (and consequent disposals), whether they've been the offender, suspect or aggrieved in a crime, whether any vulnerable adult, vulnerable child or domestic referrals have been submitted about them (either informant, aggrieved, witness or offender), addresses, associates, etc, etc. basically, what used to all be separate systems that require multiple searches have, over the years, been linked together so that, in theory, you only need to search once.

The only way to know for sure would be to submit a subject access request, but even then, there are circumstances when information can be withheld (as its not an area I deal with, I'm not clear what those circumstances are).

People passing police information on that shouldn't be (ie it's not subject to a legitimate data protection request or for a legitimate policing purpose) just make life more difficult for me and should be properly dealt with for it, IMHO. They undermine the credibility of the vast majority of honest officers.

Thanks. I know most of the police arn't bad people. I've had enough dealings with them to know that. I have no problem with all but two officers I've dealt with. One was the DC I've mentioned. And the other was the DS who took over from the DS who worked as head of security in that organisation (see why I am thinking this...).

But it's old news now. It was years ago. The information could only have come from the police! I have never told ANYONE about some of that informaiton... To this day, no one knows - apart from the police who searched me. So it could only have come from someone in that force. And i know who did it. It was a long time ago though - she might not even be a polcie officer now. It was over 5 years ago!