Part 3
The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service holds personal data within case papers. If you require access to your own personal data held within these files, it is provided under the Data Protection Act 1998 subject access request. Subject to certain exemptions in Sections 27 to 39 of the Data Protection Act 1998, individuals have rights of access to their own personal data, but not to personal data relating to third parties.
To request your own personal data, you should print off and complete a
subject access form. You should complete the form in ink and attach a covering letter explaining what information you are looking for. To help establish your identity, copies of TWO official documents must accompany your application, which between them clearly show:
- Your name
- Your date of birth and
- Current address
For example, a photocopy of a driving licence, birth/adoption certificate, passport and any other official document that shows your name and address.
You should then submit the form, covering letter and identification to:
Data Protection Co-ordinator,
Information & Records Management Team,
Business & Policy Development Division,
Crown Office,
25 Chambers Street,
Edinburgh, EH1 1LA.
Fees
The Data Protection Act 1998 provides that up to £10 may be charged as a fee for providing information to you. At present it is departmental policy to provide your first request for information free of charge but in response to subsequent requests made, a fee may be charged for the provision of information.
Complaints
If you consider that a request by you for access to your personal data was not dealt with in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 you may take further action as follows:
You may write to the Information Commissioner, who may do one of the following:
(i) Make an assessment as to whether it is likely or unlikely that the Department has complied with the 1998 Act;
(ii) Issue enforcement proceedings if he is satisfied that the Department has contravened one of the Data Protection Principles;
(iii) Recommend that you apply to court alleging a failure to comply with the subject access provisions of the 1998 Act.
Information Commissioners
The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 is enforced by the Scottish Information Commissioner (SIC), Kevin Dunion. The Freedom of Information Act 2000, which applies in England and Wales, is separate legislation enforced by the Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC), based in Cheshire. The OIC also has responsibility for the Data Protection Act 1998.
Contact details