IDG61125 - Procedure for disclosing to others (government): Crime Reduction and Safety Partnership
Section 115 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 enables certain
authorities, their co-operating partners, and persons acting on
their behalf to disclose information, in certain circumstances,
where this will support the implementation of an effective strategy
to reduce crime and disorder in the area.
In implementing these strategies, a variety of parties can be
included. These may include: local police, local council, social
services and others able to play a part in reducing crime and
disorder, which might include HMRC.
What parts of HMRC are covered by this legislation?
HMRC cannot consider disclosure unless it has signed up to the relevant Information Sharing Protocol in place. Please ask your manager or refer to Information Strategy (seeIDG90100) for confirmation of whether an Information Sharing Protocol is in place for your geographical area.
Procedure to follow – options
If signed up to an area’s Crime Reduction and Safety Partnership, HMRC might be able to either:
- Disclose information to bodies included in the area’s Crime Reduction and Safety Partnership, but only in very limited circumstances, and then with central authorisation (see Contact Details at bottom), or:
- Undertake joint operations with any covered parties, so that all parties are able to see the information for themselves, at first hand.
- These scenarios are elaborated below:
Disclosing information to parties included in the Crime Reduction and Safety Partnership
If you are an officer in a geographical area for which HMRC has signed up to a Crime Reduction and Safety Partnership, and you wish to make a disclosure of information to a body included in the partnership, please do the following:
- Check that the information in question cannot be disclosed using another legal gateway. You should only use the Crime and Disorder Act if there is no other legal gateway which would allow HMRC to make the disclosure (for example, disclosures of information to the police in criminal cases must be made using the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 – see IDG60150).
- Please refer the information which you wish to disclose to the nominated officer in your area, as outlined by the Information Sharing Protocol.
- The nominated officer will then normally contact Information Strategy (see Contact Details below), and provide details of the disclosure you wish to make. They will then provide guidance as to whether the disclosure is appropriate under the Crime and Disorder Act.
- Please do not make a disclosure without first contacting Information Strategy.
- If authorisation for the disclosure is given, the nominated officer may only disclose information to the person in the receiving organisation who has been nominated in the Information Sharing Protocol.
- For any disclosures made, records must be kept of the disclosure in line with IDG42050.
- Please ensure that on top of this guidance the procedure outlined in the local area’s Information Sharing Protocol is also adhered to.
Information obtained in joint operations
If HMRC is involved in joint operations with another party as part of the Crime Reduction and Safety Partnership, the other party will have first hand access to the information and there will be no requirement for disclosure. For example, if a seizure of counterfeit goods is made when conducting a joint operation with the police, the police will have witnessed this seizure. No disclosure of information will have been made.
Devolved assemblies
Crime Reduction and Partnerships do not exist in Northern Ireland. This guidance applies equally for England, Wales and Scotland.
Further guidance and contact details
If you are considering making a disclosure of information to a party covered by the Crime Reduction and Safety Partnership, or for further guidance and general assistance on confidentiality, contact Information Strategy (see IDG90100).
