Records Management Policy
Policy Statement
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Summary |
This policy document explains how Humberside Police (HP) will undertake the creation, capture, retention, management and destruction/disposal of all case material, records and or other corporate data (Retention, Review and Disposal (RRD)).
It sets out the processes to be adhered to in the handling and weeding of digital, media and paper investigation and case material and that sent to the Criminal Justice Service (CJS) covering Crime and Non-Crime, ensuring that retained material is:
The Force will mirror the National Retention Schedule as set out within the Authorised Professional Practice for Record Management. NB – local deviations to this policy will be clearly marked within the comment section for ease of reference. |
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Aims |
This document details practical guidance for the application of the force’s Retention, Review and Disposal (RRD) processes. The Code of Ethics published in 2024 by the College of Policing requires us all to ’exercise discretion and apply professional judgement, ensuring that actions and decisions are in the public interest and proportionate, lawful and necessary’ and that in doing so we should ‘abide by all instructions, policies and procedures set by the police service’. |
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Scope |
This policy relates to physical and digitally stored case material, digital files, records and media. This includes and refers to all case material, digital files, records and media that are housed within Niche, Common Access Platform, future uploads to the relevant TranSearch ADA (Associated Document Archive) or other force designated centralised repository, as well as paper files/records that are scanned and subsequently uploaded to the TranSearch ADA store. There are a variety of sources from where case material and/or digital files, records and media will be routed to CJS, therefore it is necessary to standardise their handling and weeding to ensure consistency across Niche and the Digital Access Management System (DAMS). All paper and/or digital files, case material, records, and media, when no longer required for court or ongoing investigative purposes, will be sent to CJS where they will be processed, catalogued, MoPI applied and sealed prior to being sent for archiving. The only exception to this is where no suspect has been identified, the process for which is outlined below. |
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Out of Scope |
This policy does not apply to any material gathered or held under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016. |
Chapter 1 – Roles & Responsibilities
The Records Manager is responsible for:
- ensuring that force information and personal data is accessible, adequate, relevant, accurate, not excessive and kept for no longer than necessary.
- offering expert advice and guidance in relation to records management, Management of Police Information (MoPI) and Data Quality.
Deputy Record Manager is responsible for:
- supporting the Records Manager in ensuring that force information and personal data is accessible, adequate, relevant, accurate, not excessive and kept for no longer than necessary.
- offering expert advice and guidance in relation to records management, MoPI and Data Quality.
- ensuring the RRD officers are compliant with applying guidance and kept up to date with any legislative changes.
Retention, Review & Disposal Officer is responsible for:
- ensuring an Initial Review has been carried out (see note below);
- conducting Triggered Reviews.
- conducting Scheduled Reviews.
- completing Request for Rectification/deletion requests.
NB – the Initial Review is a search within Niche (PNC/Pronto/other software) to see if a record exists before one is created and is the responsibility of all staff.
The Asset Owner is responsible for:
- ensuring material/records are weeded and prepared for archiving when they are no longer required for ongoing cases.
- submitting details of each case material/records to be retained for archive within the asset tracking database TranSearch.
- submitting case material/records to the Business Records Team for archiving.
The Officer in the case is responsible for:
- using Niche as the primary system for building investigations and cases.
- forwarding all remaining hardcopy paperwork, case material and media to CJS when an investigation is shown as “filed” or a Case has been “closed.
All staff are responsible for:
- being aware of this policy.
- ensuring information is accurate.,
- the security of the material/record until sent for archiving.
The Records Management Section will review all information on core systems on behalf of the force. If information is stored outside of those systems, the responsibility for MoPI review lies with the record holder.
MoPI Group 3 information should be disposed of after seven years, except where there is a continuing policing purpose to retain it for longer.
All information must be regularly assessed using the National Retention Assessment Criteria (NRAC) form within the MoPI guidance, https://www.college.police.uk/app/information-management/management-police-information/retention-review-and-disposal . A copy of the completed NRAC form should be retained within Niche.
Chapter 2 – Legal Basis
2. Principles
The College of Policing has issued the Police Information and Records Management Code of Practice (‘the Code’) as a code of practice under section 39A of the Police Act 1996 and which was laid before Parliament on 21st July 2023.
Source - Police Information and Records Management Code of Practice 2023
2.1 Authorised Professional Practice (APP)
The principles of management of police information (MoPI) provide a way of balancing proportionality and necessity that are at the heart of effective police information management. They also highlight the issues that need to be considered to comply with the law and manage risk associated with police information (College of Policing 2018).
The APP sets out how information will be managed from collection and recording to evaluation and how Review, Retention and Disposal will be carried out.
There are also sections setting out Information Sharing, Freedom of Information, Information Assurance and Data Protection, but these areas will not be referred to within this document.
2.2 Legislation specific to the subject of this policy document
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Section |
Act (title and year) |
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Management of Police Information (MoPI) Code of Practice 2005 |
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Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 (includes references to the recording of information - CPIA linked to COP MOPI Webpages) |
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Human Rights Act 1998 (in particular A.14 – Prohibition of discrimination) |
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Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and associated Regulations |
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General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Data Protection Act 2018 |
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The Children’s Act 2003 |
Chapter 3 – Initial Review
3.1 Information must be collected and recorded only for a policing purpose as defined by MoPI:
- Protecting life and
- Preserving
- Preventing the commission of
- Bringing offenders to
- Any duty or responsibility of the police arising from common or statute
3.2 Information should be recorded on the core system of Niche wherever possible. If information is missing from a core system, then a signpost must be added to it to inform internal and external users of the record that further information exists and how to access it. If there is an appropriate method of recording the information in question on a core system then it must be used (e.g., investigations, arrests, PNCIDs and names all have proper fields or dedicated record types within Niche which must be effectively used).
Care must be taken to ensure that the core systems are updated in a timely manner with any relevant information.
3.3 Any information added to a database that is not already recorded within a core system must be evaluated in line with the requirements of the National Intelligence Model (NIM) and appropriately graded and submitted through the normal channels. Information should be graded in accordance with MoPI as belonging to group 1, 2 or 3.
3.4 Information shared outside of the police service must be done in line with the Force’s Information Sharing Policy. An Information Sharing Agreement should be created for third parties with whom information is regularly shared.
3.5 Any decision not to share information should also be recorded in line with the arrangements in the Information Sharing Policy, to identify the fact that sharing was requested, and the rationale for choosing not to share.
Chapter 4 – Scheduled Review
4. Principles
Humberside Police has a statutory obligation to review all material held in accordance with the Police Information and Records Management Code of Practice.
4.1 Niche Nominal record review
The scheduled review is undertaken in line with the published MoPI category which is divided into three groups.
All offences are listed within the Police National Legal Database (PNLD) and divided into these groups.
Group 3 – these records are eligible for review after a clear period of six years has elapsed and may be deleted without a manual review. They are not classed as national records which means there is no requirement to review alongside PNC or PND.
- The records are normally noted to present a lower risk due to the type of offending.
- They may be occurrences that have been designated as No Further Action.
- They are not linked to a higher category offence – this would move the review schedule into the higher category.
Where a group 3 record is manually reviewed and there is a justification to retain (which may include vulnerability), the record will be set to be reconsidered for disposal 5 years on. The decision to retain will be recorded via the NRAC.
Group 2 – these records are eligible for review 10 years after the offence was last updated.
This group may pose a higher risk and is deemed a national record therefore consideration must be given to PNC and PND. If there is offending noted resulting from these checks, but of group 3 level only, then the decision will reflect that there is a balance of probability that the nominals behaviour overall causes concern.
Group 1 – these records refer to the most serious of crime types and where there is the highest risk posed by the nominal.
The review will be carried out 10 years after the last update and as the nominal is deemed to be a national record, PNC and PND must be checked. The review date will be set forward for another 10 years and continue at 10 yearly intervals until the nominal reaches the age of 120.
The justification to retain the record will be recorded within the NRAC.
It will be noted that within the nominal record, there may be a mixture of offences, some of which will be at group 3 level. Whilst there is an expectation that the whole record will be retained, if the group 3 offence was not linked to a clear emerging crime-pattern development, is physical in nature or may be of poor quality, then this could be considered for disposal. This should be recorded within the occurrence.
Example: a nominal convicted of rape but whose oldest offence was theft of chewing gum and held locally on a paper file. It would be acceptable to dispose of the theft, but the rape file would be retained whether digitally or physically held.
Within group 1 and 2 files, there are likely to be witnesses and victims who would themselves have no other record. For Niche RMS they are classed as group 4 for ease of reference. To maintain the integrity of the suspect/offender, it will be proportionate to retain these records, and they would have no negative impact of any employment or other checks that might be carried out on them.
The justification for retaining a record is that the nominal continues to present a clear risk, and past behaviour is deemed to indicate future behaviour.
Where a group of nominals is linked to an offence, then the occurrence will be retained until the youngest reaches the age of 120.
Whilst RRD has previously been taken to mean that a nominal will be disposed of when it satisfies the criteria, there is now a potential for a record to be retained and potentially be lodged in a local police museum. This is covered by The Archiving in the Public Interest.
4.2 Crime File Digital Media Review
Recorded Interviews on Disc or Audio Tape
ABE Interviews on Disc or Audio Tape
The master copy of the recorded interview will be assessed in conjunction with the Review, Retention and Disposal Schedule of Crime Related Information and placed in a suitable folder and barcoded.
The master copy of the interview will be archived along with the paper file according to its MoPI status. In instances where there is no associated paper file, the master copy of the interview will be archived in its own folder.
The working copy of the recorded interview will be destroyed in accordance with the National Retention Schedule.
Recorded Interviews (including ABE) Digitally Stored.
Digitally recorded interviews conducted using DIR machines in Police Investigation Centres (PIC) or police stations will only exist digitally and will have no physical master copy. If a physical copy is produced at the request of the OIC, it will be subject to the above weeding process.
Recorded interviews (except for those on Body Worn Video (BWV)) are automatically marked ‘evidential’ and will be retained on the Reveal DEMs digital store and destroyed in accordance with the National Retention Schedule. Interview on BWV must be manually marked ‘evidential’ by the OIC before being subject to the same process.
Digitally recorded interviews that are not marked as evidential will automatically be deleted from the Reveal DEMS digital store in accordance with the Schedule.
- CCTV
All CCTV that is digitally held and is of an evidential nature should be retained by the receiving Officer until it has been formatted, loaded to DEMs and marked as evidential.
- BWV
All BWV footage of an evidential nature must be marked as such on the Reveal DEMS digital store by the Officer who captured the footage.
BWV footage of an evidential nature will be retained in accordance with the Constabularies’ Review, Retention and Disposal of Crime Related Information Policy and the National Retention Schedule.
BWV footage relating to non-crime traffic process incidents will be retained in accordance with the National Retention Schedule.
BWV that is not marked as evidential will automatically be deleted from the Reveal DEMS digital store in accordance with the Schedule.
NB: Humberside Police is moving onto a Digital Asset Management System. This does not affect the fundamental retention periods. Once this is live the system NICE Investigate will hold new data digitally with Legacy physical paper or media material being held in a repository for onward management.
- NSPIS Case
This material will be held in TranSearch with a link to the original investigation shown in Niche. It will be reviewed in accordance with the National Retention Schedule.
- Crime file paper review.
Original evidential material (including that with a ‘wet’ signature) does not need to be retained provided it has been suitably scanned into Niche or a scanned copy in PDF/A format is in the TranSearch ADA store. There is no requirement to retain these documents in a paper format.
Copied material that is identical will be removed to avoid duplication of archived material. Copies of documents which have been modified in any sense, for example annotated, must be retained as originals and scanned into Niche or TranSearch ADA in PDF/A format.
Material that is police system generated (CIS, PNC, CAD, Custody, crime print) can also be removed from the Case file where the original is held on the relevant police system. However, if a printout has been written on by the OIC then it must have been suitably scanned into Niche or a scanned copy in PDF/A format imported into the TranSearch ADA store. Material that is electronically generated by partner agencies, for instance HMCTs, does not need to be included.
- Custody Images
Custody Images from May 2022 are held within Niche. Legacy Images are held within local servers and both are subject to National Retention Schedule.
Chapter 5 – Triggered Review
5. Principles
A review may be triggered by:
- a nominal moving from Group 3 to Group 2 or Group 1 offending;
- a request for rectification received from the subject;
- a request for all or partial record deletion from the subject.
Chapter 6 – Police Information – Review, Retention and Disposal
6. Principles
- Records held in any format for one of five ‘policing purposes’ as described in the Statutory Code of Practice on the Management of Police Information are subject to MoPI retention, review, and disposal guidance.
- Records in electronic format are managed at a force level as per APP MoPI criteria and must not be deleted without the approval of the Information Governance Unit (IGU).
- The retention periods are determined by crime type, and then categorised into MoPI groups. The groups are a national standard and are risk-based classifications, based on the seriousness of offence.
6.4 The MoPI groups can be broadly defined as:
- Group 1: Serious specified offences (Criminal Justice Act 2003)
- Group 2: Other sexual and violent offences
- Group 3: All other offences
Information relating to any National Inquiry, IOPC or Criminal Case review will be retained until the conclusion of said investigations. It is an offence to dispose of information that may be relevant to such an Inquiry. All material that is relevant to the Covid public Inquiry should be retained and should be flagged to Information Governance via email.
6.5The Force has agreed the minimum retention periods and they are mandatory.
6.6 No deviations to this policy must be undertaken without discussion with the Force Records Manager. The risks will be evaluated by the Records Manager, Head of Information Governance and where required signed off by the Force SIRO.
6.1. Practice
6.1.1 Collection
Information must be collected and recorded only for a policing purpose as defined by MoPI:
- Protecting life and
- Preserving
- Preventing the commission of
- Bringing offenders to
- Any duty or responsibility of the police arising from common or statute
6.1.2 Recording
Information should be recorded on the core system of NICHE wherever possible. If information is missing from a core system, then a signpost must be added to it to inform internal and external users of the record that further information exists and how to access it. If there is an appropriate method of recording the information in question on a core system then it must be used (e.g., investigations, arrests, PNCIDs and names all have proper fields or dedicated record types within Niche which must be effectively used).
Care must be taken to ensure that the core systems are updated in a timely manner with any relevant information.
6.1.3 Evaluation
Any information added to a database that is not already recorded within a core system must be evaluated in line with the requirements of the National Intelligence Model (NIM) and appropriately graded and submitted through the normal channels.
Information should be graded in accordance with MoPI as belonging to group 1, 2 or 3.
6.1.4 Sharing
Information shared outside of the police service must be done in line with the Force’s Information Sharing Policy. An Information Sharing Agreement should be created for third parties with whom information is regularly shared.
Any decision not to share information should also be recorded in line with the arrangements in the Information Sharing Policy, to identify the fact that sharing was requested, and the rationale for choosing not to share, in line with the guidance in the force Information Sharing Policy and MoPI guidance.
6.1.5 Review, Retention and Disposal
Policing Information should be regularly reviewed and, if not already done, transferred to a core system at the earliest opportunity.
Information should only be retained where there is a policing purpose to do so and must be stored in a manner enabling it to be identified, located, searched on, and used operationally. If this cannot be done by means of transferring into a core system, then a clear signpost must be placed on the master record (usually a NICHE nominal).
Information should be disposed of when no longer held for a policing purpose. If the information on the database is a duplicate of information already held in a core system, it may be disposed of. If any unique information has been added to the database, the core system should be updated according to the guidance in this document.
The Records Management Section will review all information on core systems on behalf of the force. If information is stored outside of those systems, the responsibility for MoPI review lies with the record holder.
MoPI Group 3 information should be disposed of after seven years, except where there is a continuing policing purpose to retain it for longer.
All information must be regularly assessed using the National Retention Assessment Criteria (NRAC) form within the MoPI guidance (appendix 4(i)). A copy of the completed NRAC form should be retained within NICHE.
Additional Information
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Compliance |
This Policy complies with the following legislation and guidance: · Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 · Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 · Authorised Professional Practice - Information Management · Data Protection Act 2018 · Freedom of Information Act 2000 · Authorised Professional Practice (APP) · Human Rights Act 1998 · Part V of the Police Act 1997
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Appendix 1: Review Groups:
Appendix 2: Guidance on Managing databases.
The following is brief guidance to ensure compliance with the Guidance on the Management of Police Information (MoPI) and the force Records Management Policy for databases and investigative products that are used to record and manipulate police information outside of the force’s core systems.
This guidance is intended to complement the MoPI guidance, and the force’s Records Management Policy which contains more detail on each of the areas.
Summary
Databases are allowed if they only contain information already held in a core system (if new information is added to the database this should be assessed for value and submitted to the appropriate area of a core database).
Each database must have a policy document stating the policing purpose for retaining this information in this format, security access arrangements and the planned review dates for the continued retention or disposal of this database. If in doubt contact the Records Management Section.
What is a database?
This guidance covers paper filing systems, databases on Excel or Access (sometimes even Word documents), Organisation Nominals within NICHE and any policing information recorded outside of a core system. For the purposes of this document, all the above will be termed “databases”.
For the purposes of this guidance, such databases include commonly used applications such as PentiP.
It is not intended to prevent the manipulation of existing data to conduct normal investigations, or create intelligence products, except where the database contains pieces of information which are relevant for a policing purpose and are not recorded within the core systems. If in doubt, contact the Records Management Section for advice.