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U.K. Police Have a Message for Crime Victims: Hand over Your Private Data

nytimes.com

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Re: U.K. Police Have a Message for Crime Victims: Hand over Your Private Data

#61

Post by Starknaked »

DanBC wrote: post #32
Starknaked wrote: post #22

I wonder how police behaviour would be influenced by refusing to hand over the data? Will they assign less resources to your case because they think you're unhelpful by not turning over your data?

Rape is already under-investigated and under-prosecuted in the UK, and we've seen numbers of prosecutions declining alarmingly after the cases that caused this new guidance to be issued. So we don't need to wonder, we know: police and CPS administratively close the case.

So they're just assuming that the victims data will be their best lead?

How about everyone just keeps a secondary dumb phone to hand over when they feel that the police request is unreasonable.

Re: U.K. Police Have a Message for Crime Victims: Hand over Your Private Data

#62

Post by Starknaked »

NullPrefix wrote: post #34
Starknaked wrote: post #22

I wonder how police behaviour would be influenced by refusing to hand over the data? Will they assign less resources to your case because they think you're unhelpful by not turning over your data?

Obstruction of justice?

If the victim has reason to belive their data would lead to a conviction the police wouldn't need to ask for it

Re: U.K. Police Have a Message for Crime Victims: Hand over Your Private Data

#63

Post by natch »

Still waiting for the day when I receive a form asking for my consent for authorities to see private media I have shared with a friend whose device they are prying into.

Not holding my breath. They seem to have no clue that in accessing a user's device, they are also violating the privacy of that user's friends.

Re: U.K. Police Have a Message for Crime Victims: Hand over Your Private Data

#64

Post by natch »

RcouF1uZ4gsC wrote: post #23
lallysingh wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If your car is stolen, it's reasonable that your Google docs are read?

If you say your child was kidnapped, I bet that your Google docs might be read.

That's different, because it's a dynamic situation with another person at risk where clues could help recover that person safely.

Re: U.K. Police Have a Message for Crime Victims: Hand over Your Private Data

#65

Post by [deleted] »

dgellow wrote: post #8

> Mr. Ephgrave, the assistant commissioner, acknowledged such concerns in his statement. > “We understand that how personal data is used can be a source of anxiety,” he said. “We would never want victims to feel that they can’t report crimes because of ‘intrusion’ in their data.” > “That’s why a new national form has been introduced,” replacing policies that varied from place to place, “to help police seek informed c…

[deleted]

Re: U.K. Police Have a Message for Crime Victims: Hand over Your Private Data

#66

Post by jhayward »

pmichaud wrote: post #50
colejohnson66 wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But why. What use would my Google Docs have?

Often when children go missing the parents are responsible or complicit in some way. People write things down all the time -- a google account may contain incriminating emails, IM messages, or other documents such as journal entries. I'm squicked out about the invasion like many are, and if I thought about it carefully I expect I would come out against the idea, but I can actually see the case for this invasion.

> Often when children go missing the parents are responsible or complicit in some way.

In that case, they are being investigated as suspects and should obtain all of the due process that suspects are afforded under the law. Reasonable suspicion, warrants, etc. should all be obtained - not "we won't investigate the crime unless you surrender your rights and permit us to investigate you as a suspect without warrant or cause."

Re: U.K. Police Have a Message for Crime Victims: Hand over Your Private Data

#67

Post by closetohome »

opwieurposiu wrote: post #54
abvdasker wrote: post #24

This seems like it will inevitably discourage victims from reporting crime. Imagine a scenario where someone is mugged but doesn't want to report it to the police because they have some texts from their weed dealer on their phone: as a result the mugger never gets reported and may mug somebody else. Not to mention the huge opportunities it creates for a kind of blackmail (criminal A commits a crime against criminal B…

When criminal A reports criminal B this is known as "Snitchin". On the streets, snitchin' is widely regarded to be bad for your health. Therefore anything that discourages snitchin should regared be a net positive for society and longevity!

Snitches get...their phone confiscated, apparently.

Re: U.K. Police Have a Message for Crime Victims: Hand over Your Private Data

#68

Post by JustSomeNobody »

natch wrote: post #63

Still waiting for the day when I receive a form asking for my consent for authorities to see private media I have shared with a friend whose device they are prying into. Not holding my breath. They seem to have no clue that in accessing a user's device, they are also violating the privacy of that user's friends.

Oh I’m sure they do know.

Re: U.K. Police Have a Message for Crime Victims: Hand over Your Private Data

#69

Post by [deleted] »

username223 wrote: post #27
jessriedel wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure about the UK, but in the US the police have no formal duty to protect you. No matter how much warning/info/evidence they have that someone will be victimized, and no matter how easy/reasonable it is for the police to prevent it, citizens are generically not entitled to compensation for failure to be protected. Rather, the police's mission (both formally and as a functional matter) is overwhelmingly about cat…

We can always vote and legislate for something better. From my experience in the US, police vary from decent people just trying to serve society, to up-armored mall cops on power trips. If you give them assault rifles, tanks, and unlimited surveillance, you encourage the worst among them. A guy wearing a uniform and trained in de-escalation instead of "verbal control" could do some good.

[deleted]
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