Data Protection
The Data Protection Act 1998 (The Act) gives individuals the right of access to personal information, which may be held about them, subject to certain exemptions. This is called the right of ‘Subject Access’.
The Act lays out the standards for the ownership, management and use of ‘personal information’ about living individuals and gives people certain rights to access information.
The 8 principles of the Act require that data must be:
- • Processed fairly and lawfully
- • Processed for specified purposes
- • Adequate, relevant and not excessive
- • Accurate and up-to-date
- • Kept no longer than necessary
- • Processed in accordance with the rights of the data subject
- • Held securely
- • Not transferred to countries outside EEA without adequate protection
People can request a copy of personal data held about them, subject to certain exemptions, by submitting a ‘Subject Access’ request.
If you wish to make a Subject Access request, you will need to:
- • Complete a Subject Access application form (25.24 kB)
- • Provide proof of identification with your form i.e. passport, driving license, something that shows your full name, date of birth and current address. This may require a combination of documents; see Section 4 of the application form for examples.
- • Please provide specific details regarding the information you require, to enable us to locate it.
- • Provide a statutory fee of £10.00, with cheques made payable to the Police and Crime Commissioner for South Wales.
Please send your completed form, identific ation document, and fee to:
Data Protection Officer
South Wales Police Headquarters
Cowbridge Road
Bridgend
CF31 3SU
Alternatively, if you do not wish to post us your application, identification document(s) and fee, please visit your nearest South Wales Police station and they will issue you with a receipt and return your documents to you straight away.
Once we have received your application, the process to retrieve your information and provide a response may take up to 40 days.
How we use personal information
If you would like more details about how we process information, please take a look at our guidance document: How South Wales Police Uses Personal Information (75.34 kB).
Police Certificates for visa, emigration or residency applications
Individuals requiring Police Certificates for the purpose of applications for emigration, visas or residency for a number of countries including, but not limited to Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United States of America should download an application form via the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) website following links to ACRO. However, it is your responsibility to confirm with the relevant Embassy, High Commission or requesting authority that a Police Certificate will be acceptable.
Website: http://www.acpo.police.uk
Please note that this Certificate is processed entirely by the ACPO Criminal Records Office (ACRO) and applications should not be returned to South Wales Police. All submissions and enquiries relating to this process should be directed to ACRO, who can be contacted as follows:
Telephone: 0845 601 3999 (International callers: 0044 1962 871 111) during their office hours of 08:30 – 23:00 GMT, Monday – Friday.
