Criminal Records Data Breach – When Could You Claim?

In this guide, we will look at the potential impacts of a criminal records data breach involving your personal information and whether you could be eligible to receive compensation. Personal details relating to previous convictions and offences are protected by data protection laws.

Criminal records data breach claims guide

Criminal records data breach claims guide

The Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) and UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) are the central pieces of legislation governing the use and storage of personal data. The UK GDPR sets out rules that all data controllers and processors must adhere to when they handle personal data. Data controllers have overall control over the use and means of processing personal data, whereas data processors act on the relevant controller’s behalf.

A data security incident could happen due to human error or a deliberate criminal act. If this occurs due to failings on the part of the data controller or processor and results in you suffering a psychological injury or financial loss, you could be eligible to make a claim.

Please speak to one of our advisors; they are available 24/7 to answer any enquiries and can provide free and confidential advice.

To do this:

  • Call us on 0800 073 8801
  • Contact us online and request a callback
  • Or speak to a team member using our live support feature below

Select A Section

  1. What Is A Criminal Records Data Breach?
  2. Why Are There Special Rules For Processing Criminal Records Data?
  3. Who Could Access Criminal Records Data?
  4. What Can I Do After A Criminal Records Data Breach?
  5. How Much Could You Claim For A Criminal Records Data Breach?
  6. Start A No Win No Fee Criminal Records Data Breach Claim

What Is A Criminal Records Data Breach?

Before examining the details of a criminal records data breach, it’s important to answer, ‘what is personal data?’ Personal data is information which can be used to identify a person. This data can range from information such as your name, address or date of birth to data regarded as special category data due to its sensitive nature; this includes:

  • Ethnicity and racial origin
  • Political opinions and philosophical beliefs
  • Trade union membership
  • Health data
  • Sexual orientation

Criminal offence data is personal data which may be recorded either digitally or physically and could be used to learn something about a person’s criminal record. This could include:

  • Suspicion or allegations of criminal activity
  • Criminal offences or convictions
  • Data showing the absence of convictions
  • Information regarding probation or parole
  • Police cautions

A personal data breach is described by the Information Commissioners Office (ICO), an independent UK body responsible for upholding information rights, as the accidental or unlawful loss, destruction, unauthorised disclosure of, access to, or alteration of personal data.

A breach could happen due to deliberate criminal activity, such as a cyber attack. On the other hand, a breach could be caused by human error. For example, an organisation could send an email including your personal data to the wrong email address.

Why Are There Special Rules For Processing Criminal Records Data?

Personal data relating to security measures, convictions or offences are given extra protection under the UK GDPR. Under Article 10 of the UK GDPR, there are specific rules on criminal offence data handling. This type of data should only be processed under the control of an official authority. In instances where criminal offence data cannot be processed under these circumstances, it needs to be authorised by domestic law.

These special rules exist in the interest of protecting people’s rights and freedom. Also, these records could have an impact on employment.

If you have suffered harm as a result of your personal information being breached due to a data controller or processor failing to adhere to the UK GDPR, please speak to a member of our team. You could be eligible to make a criminal records data breach claim.

Who Could Access Criminal Records Data?

People with official authority can process personal data regarding criminal convictions and offences as they are processing the data in an official capacity. If a person does not have official authority, they must identify a specific condition for processing criminal offence data in Schedule 1 of the DPA. You still must have a lawful basis to process this personal information under Article 6 of the UK GDPR.

Please contact our team of advisors if your personal data has been involved in a criminal records data breach caused by a breach of data protection laws. You may be suffering from psychological or financial harm for which you could be eligible to receive compensation.

What Can I Do After A Criminal Records Data Breach?

An organisation should contact you without undue delay after discovering the occurrence of a criminal records data breach involving your personal information. They also have a duty to report a breach affecting your rights and freedom to the ICO within 72 hours. Following this, or if you suspect your data has been breached, you could:

  • Making a complaint directly to the organisation that was responsible for your personal data.
  • Complain directly to the ICO. It is important to note that the ICO cannot award compensation for a data breach. However, their involvement could provide credible findings to support your claim.
  • Contact our team of advisors to discuss making a data breach compensation claim.

How Much Could You Claim For A Criminal Records Data Breach?

A successful claim for a criminal records data breach involving your personal information could consist of up to two potential heads of claim: material and non-material damage.

Firstly, you could receive compensation for non-material damage for any psychological injuries caused by a personal data breach. This could include:

The Vidal-Hall and Others v Google Inc [2015] court of appeal case changed the law’s position on how compensation can be awarded for a successful data breach claim. This means you can now claim for non-material damage even if you are not claiming for material damage.

We have produced the table below using the Judicial College guidelines (JCG), updated in April 2022. This provides guide compensation amounts for different psychological injuries. Legal professionals, including data breach solicitors, can use this document as a reference when they are valuing payout amounts for non-material damage.

Edit
Injury and Severity Level Compensation Bracket Notes on the Injury
Psychological Damage Generally – (a) Severe £54,830 to £115,730 There will be marked problems with work, education, daily life and personal relationships, with a very poor prognosis.
Psychological Damage Generally – (b) Moderately Severe £19,070 to £54,830 The problems suffered by the person will be similar to the above bracket, however, they will have a much more optimistic prognosis.
Psychological Damage Generally – (c) Moderate £5,860 to £19,070 The person will have made a marked improvement by trial and their prognosis is good.
Psychological Damage Generally – (d) Less Severe £1,540 to £5,860 This bracket considers the length of injury and the extent to which it affected the person’s daily activities.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) – (a) Severe £59,860 to £100,670 The persons life will be badly affected in all aspects, with permanent effects.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) – (b) Moderately Severe £23,150 to £59,860

 The person will have a better prognosis for recovery with professional assistance.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) – (c) Moderate £8,180 to £23,150 A large recovery will have taken place.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) – (d) Less Severe £3,950 to £8,180 A virtually complete recovery will happen within 12 – 24 months, and only minor symptoms will remain any longer.

It is vital to bear in mind that these bracket figures are a guide and not an exact representation of what will be awarded in a successful claim. The unique factors of each criminal records data breach claim determine the compensation payout.

Material Damage

In a successful data breach claim, you can be awarded compensation for material damage. This could include:

  • Loss of income – For example, you may have suffered psychological injuries that prevented you from working.
  • Money stolen from your bank accounts – For example, if you are the victim of identity theft or credit card theft.
  • Damage to your credit scores.

It’s important to retain evidence of financial losses to support your claim. This could include bank records, receipts and payslips. Please speak to one of our advisors to learn more about data breach compensation. They could also offer insight into your claim.

Start A No Win No Fee Criminal Records Data Breach Claim

You could choose to use a No Win No Fee solicitor. A Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) requires both the claimant and legal professional to sign this contract which will usually state no upfront or ongoing payments for the solicitor’s services. Also, you generally won’t pay for the services of a solicitor at any point should your claim not end in success.

Alternatively, a successful claim means a No Win No Fee solicitor can deduct a small legally capped percentage of the compensation. This is often referred to as a ‘success fee’.

Speak to one of our advisors for an assessment of your criminal records data breach claim. If they find you could be eligible to make a claim, they may place you in contact with one of our specialist data breach solicitors. However, you will not be under any obligation to further your claim.

You can:

  • Call us on 0800 073 8801
  • Contact us online and request a callback
  • Or speak to a team member using our live support feature below

Articles Relating To Criminal Record Data Breaches

Take a look at more of the informative data breach guides on our website:

Also, explore these extra sources to learn more:

Thank you for reading this guide to claiming compensation following a criminal records data breach.

Guide by JW

Edited by MM/JO