Never trust a Government database
Posted on July 7, 2011I’ve written before about my dislike of the Database State, and a new report released today by my former stablemates at Big Brother Watch reinforces exactly why they’re so dangerous. Next time someone says “if you’ve got nothing to hide, you’ve got nothing to fear”, make the point to them that over 900 police officers and staff were disciplined for breaching the Data Protection Act between 2007 and 2010.
That’s almost one breach every single day of the last three years. With so many bad apples in the barrel, why should we trust them with the crucial details of our identity and our private lives?
Tags: Big Brother Watch, Census, Database State, Freedom, Privacy, TaxPayers' Alliance, Think Tanks
Um. While I entirely agree with you on Government databases, this is coppers nosing around other peoples’ criminal records. I’m pretty sure that peoples’ criminal records should be kept on file by the police.
To my mind, by far the bigger scandal brewing is that Theresa May is creating a new company to handle criminal records. Naturally, this company will not be subject to FoI. In a kind of ‘fuck you’ to FoI campaigners, she announced this new company to ACPO.
07.07.2011 13:26
“Um. While I entirely agree with you on Government databases, this is coppers nosing around other peoples’ criminal records. I’m pretty sure that peoples’ criminal records should be kept on file by the police.”
Not really the point being made. The example shows a government database being abused by government employees and thus its reasonable to assume all government databases will therefor be similarly abused by other government employees.
07.07.2011 16:05
Which I accepted. My point was that not all databases are the same, and that this was an odd comparison with which to make the argument.
07.07.2011 16:31
Totally agree with you. Data privacy is a bit like virginity, when you loss it you never get it back.
The government professed that the NHS central database would be secure as there would be an audit trail that would enable you to identify which of the 1.6million members of staff had accessed your data. This of course would be after the event, and in no way prevent your data from being sold on.
Would members the government be happy if we had access to their personel bank account?, of course with an audit trail to show who had stole their cash.
Or maybe, just maybe; they and the police would show confidence in the DNA database by providing their DNA to be stored. ‘Nothing to fear’ and all that. We know the police federation refuses on behalf of it’s members, even for the purposes of eliminating them from the scene of a crime, certainly refuses the storing of DNA from innocent coppers. How much does our pandering to the poor police, sensitive little lambs, cost us if they have to be checked again and again? What is the system they use for this, or do they have a VIP and coppers database which is more secure? If so, why.
11.07.2011 09:18
” We know the police federation refuses on behalf of it’s members, even for the purposes of eliminating them from the scene of a crime, certainly refuses the storing of DNA from innocent coppers” –
That’s not true. Police officers are placed on the database for the purposes of elimination. (And the fingerprint database too, hence the case of Shirley McKie: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-450737/Flawed-fingerprint-evidence-led-travesty-justice.html ) What’s peculiar is that while it is extremely hard, if not quite impossible, for an innocent member of the public to have their profile removed from the database by appeal to the relevant Chief Constable, it is standard practice to delete the profiles of police officers on their retirement.
17.07.2011 07:03
I seriously doubt that these police officers were disciplined for accessing concrete criminal records handed down as a result of the decision of a court of law. More like snooping on the known political affiliations, acquaintances, browsing habits, academic or professional standings, and titillating all-around paper trails of their friends, neighbours, and love interests.
10.07.2011 14:50