Privacy

Privacy

The Data Protection Act sets out the principles for the fair and lawful obtaining, recording, use and security of personal information. The act works in two ways;

  1. it gives you, as an individual, certain rights
  2. it ensures that we, as an organisation, are open about how the information is stored and used.

Set out below are the principles we apply when we handle personal information. 

  • We collect and use personal information so that we can carry out our legal and legitimate functions. These functions are defined by legislation, common law and best practice.
  • We will use the information we collect to;
    • prevent and prosecute offenders
    • protect life and property
    • maintain law and order
    • give assistance to members of the public
    • we may use your personal information to help use evaluate our performance and effectiveness and may contact you to ask you to give us your opinion on the services we provide. We will use the information you provide to improve our services wherever we can
    • where possible and appropriate, you will be informed of the reason why we are holding your personal information. Personal information may be held without your knowledge or consent, when this is necessary for purposes such as the prevention or detection of crime, the prosecution or apprehension of offenders, national security and public safety
    • all personal information we handle is in accordance with the Data Protection Act 
    • we collect and use information only for policing and associated purposes. We will not use or disclose your information for any other purposes without your consent unless we are required to do so by law or it is in the over-riding public interest to do so
    • we may give information to agents or contractors so that they can provide the facilities we need. In such cases, legally binding contracts covering the use and security of your information will be put in place
    • we will share personal information only when it is lawful to do so and when your rights have been fully considered
    • we take great care to ensure the information we hold is accurate, kept up-to-date and is destroyed when no longer required
    • we use a variety of physical, technical and procedural measures to protect personal information from unauthorised or accidental disclosure, loss or corruption
    • our staff are trained in the appropriate procedures and policies for correct handling of personal information
    • we will normally provide a copy of any information we hold about you upon request. If you believe the information we hold is inaccurate or misleading, it will be checked and corrected if appropriate
    • if you are unhappy with the way in which we have handled your personal information, you can complain to our Data Protection Officer or Professional Standards Department 
    • we reserve the right to gather information relating to site usage. Any information gathered is primarily for internal use to allow us to refine and improve the service we provide
    • this website contains links to other sites that are not owned or operated by us and as such, we are not responsible for their content or privacy practices
    • by continuing to use this website, you are considered as understanding and agreeing to the contents of this statement
    • children under 16 years of age should not submit any information to any website without prior consent of a parent or carer.

Information provided to our website through contact forms is treated in confidence and we will not disclose any information to third parties, unless required to do so in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018.

 

Cookies used on this website

This website uses cookies to improve user experience and functionality. Data collected on this website is used to review user behaviour patterns to allow us to continually improve our services to the public.

Cookie data does not personally identify anyone.

We sometimes add small text files, known as cookies, on your computer, laptop or mobile device to make our website secure and easy to use. Cookies help us to;

  • personalise your experience by remembering information you have typed in, so that you won't need to re-enter it
  • make our website better, more secure and protect it from being attacked
  • analyse how you use our website so that we can determine any improvements needed to ensure it is useful and can meet your needs.

You can learn more about cookies and how to manage them by visiting GOV.UK - How government websites use cookies or you can chose to opt out of your activity being tracked by Google Analytics across all websites.

 

Google Analytics

No personal information is collected or stores, however information may be transferred by Google to third parties where required to do so by law, or where third parties process information on Google’s behalf.

Using these cookies helps us estimate the number of visitors to our website and provides us with an understanding of visitors use our website.

Google Analytics uses a variety of cookies in order to measure things including;

  • number of users
  • how users interact with our website
  • the length of time a user stays on our website
  • when users leave our website
  • how users arrived at our website.

View detailed information on Google Analytics cookie use.

Opt-out of Google Analytics

Guidance is available online to help you change your settings to opt-out if you would prefer not to send information to Google Analytics.

 

Managing cookies on your computer

The cookies we use are sent to your internet browser and stored in a cookies directory on your computer. You can remove or update your cookie preferences in your internet browser settings.

Most browsers give guidance on how you can adjust the cookie settings in their help menu, or you can visit the About Cookies website which has helpful information on how you can manage cookies.

 

Data controller and protection officer:

 

Jon Boutcher
c/o Bedfordshire Police Headquarters
Woburn Road
Kempston
Bedford
MK43 9AX

ICO Registration Number: Z4882156