Handling of evidence in regards to disciplinary hearings and complaints

Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.22.027401

I note you seek access to the following information:

I would like to open an FOI inquiry in regard to the procedure of storing personal information and evidence in the Metropolitan Police Service Database or other archives accessible to Constables or those other employed by the Service in regard to disciplinary procedures and complaints.

I would like to know the following:

1.Any and all policies currently in force in regard to storage and handling of visual or recorded (videos, tapes, etc...) evidence;

2.Which laws do those policies comply with (if possible, to be specified which sections of which act); and

3.If required by the Directorate of Professional Standards or any other department within MPS, what is the minimal amount of time before said evidence (written or recorded) can be disposed of?

Decision

I have today decided to disclose the located information to you in full.

Please find below information pursuant to your request above.

Q1 - Any and all policies currently in force in regard to storage and handling of visual or recorded (videos, tapes, etc...) evidence;

For LDSS the following guidance is in place on how they store and handle exhibits (video/tapes/discs).

Detailed guidance is provided in Code E of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act. (See Legal Database). The Policy and Manual on the operational use of video and imaging systems within the Metropolitan Police Service may be found in Special Notice 13_00. For records (including case papers, tapes, discs, CCTV), refer to the Records Management policy.

Q2 - Which laws do those policies comply with (if possible, to be specified which sections of which act); and

See above re Code E of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act.

All personal information is managed in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018, for the purposes of retention and processing.

Q3 - If required by the Directorate of Professional Standards or any other department within MPS, what is the minimal amount of time before said evidence (written or recorded) can be disposed of?

7 years – 1 year held locally, 6 years centrally in deep storage.

Conduct Records	Records relating to the investigation of personnel who may have committed a criminal offence or behaved in a manner which would justify disciplinary proceedings	Minimum of 6 years and review in line with MoPI	APP - MoPI Conduct incidents should be MoPI graded 1-3 based on the offence which is being investigated [regardless of whether the incident is officially crimed] and reviewed and retained in line with MoPI. This means that the officer/ staff member’s record will be retained subject to their overall clear period.
Complaints Records	Records relating to an expression of dissatisfaction by a member of the public about the conduct of a serving member of the police	6 years from end of sanction/ closure of investigation [whichever is longest]	Complaints against police records can be retained beyond 6 years where the officer/ staff member has received further complaints since the last incident and this shows a pattern of behaviour.