The sterling work of the Press Gazette last year led to the
law being changed in this area.
From March 25th, police must seek judicial
approval to access details of our phone records, texts and emails.
However, as the Sunday Herald revealed, Police Scotland is
one of two forces to have breached these new rules.
The row over this individual violation
will rumble on, but a wider question is whether Police Scotland used this
tactic before March.
The IOCCO, which monitors the use of the RIPA, reported
earlier this year that police forces had applied for communications data (in relation
to journalists and their sources) on hundreds of occasions.
Any journalist who writes about the single force and is
concerned their phone records/texts may have been accessed can respond in a
constructive way.
A Subject Access Request (SAR) gives citizens a qualified
right to all information held on them by ‘data controllers’, which includes
public bodies.
I suggest journalists who have written public interest stories on Police Scotland click on the following link and print off the form:
In the ‘any other information box’ (second box from the bottom) it would be wise to ask
for the following:
-
- All applications for communications data
relating to [you] in relation to Police Scotland
- - The results of all applications for
communications data relating to [you] in relation to Police Scotland
-
- All information held on [you] by the single force's Counter
Corruption Unit
A SAR will cost you £10. The National Union
of Journalists in Scotland is encouraging reporters to go down this route. I
agree.
