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Privacy notice and cookies

Privacy notices and policies

Our privacy notices and policies reflect our commitment to high ethical standards and to maintaining an open and honest system of local governance. They are designed to help you understand how we collect, use and safeguard the personal information we hold, and to assist you to make informed decisions when using this site.

You can download our privacy notices on:

You can also read our policy documents relating to our core functions and human resources.

Making information available

This page offers guidance on a range of issues about how the IOPC provides case-related information or documents. It is intended to help members of staff when considering whether to disclose a document or information by setting out some of the basic considerations. However, each case must be judged on its merits and in some cases there will be good reason to depart from this guidance. It is not a definitive statement of what should be disclosed in any particular case.

Making information available (Making information available is also available in Welsh).

Using this website

We do not capture and store any personal information about individuals who access this website, except where you voluntarily choose to provide your details via email or by completing an online form.

We will use the information you provide only for the purposes of processing your form and will not pass on information to third parties except where it is necessary in the proper performance of our functions under the Police Reform Act 2002.

Questions about this statement should be directed to the IOPC, by email to [email protected]

or by mail to: 
IOPC 
10 South Colonnade 
Canary Wharf 
London 
E14 4PU 
United Kingdom

What information does the IOPC collect?

When you visit our site you may provide two types of information:

  • personal information you choose to provide that is collected on an individual basis, e.g. any enquiry forms that you complete and through any e-mails that you send.
  • information that is collected automatically on an overall basis as you and others browse the site (for example, which web pages are most visited or which pages visitors spend the most time on).

Personal information you choose to provide

We collect the following information from visitors: feedback (through emails), questions about the IOPC, and applications for careers.

How do we use the information you provide to us?

Where you are required to submit personal information, such as when you subscribe to a news bulletin, your information allows us to send you ongoing news and announcements by email.

We also use the overall information about visitors' website usage patterns to see which are the popular parts of our website. This helps us decide how best to develop our website.

Cookies

Cookies are small text files that are placed on your computer by websites that you visit. They are widely used in order to make websites work, or work more efficiently, as well as to provide information to the owners of the site.

  • Session Cookie (necessary): Used by Drupal to make the website function correctly. Expiry: Session
  • JS Cookie (necessary): Used by Drupal to indicate whether or not the visitor's browser has JavaScript enabled to make the website function correctly. Expiry: Session
  • High Availability: Website Load Balancer (necessary): Created, updated and used exclusively by the Load Balancers to associate a browser session with a particular web server in the cluster. Contains an internal identifier of the server handling the user. There is absolutely no identifiable information. Blocking this cookie will have no effect on anonymous users, but helps maintain cache consistency when an editor is logged into the site. Expiry: Session
  • Compliance Cookie (necessary): Used to record whether or not visitors have seen a message about cookies being used on the site, as part of compliance with UK cookie laws. Expiry: 90 days
  • Analytical cookies (_ga): Google Analytics help us to improve our website by collecting and reporting information on its usage. Expiry: 3 days

How do I change my cookie settings?

Most web browsers allow some control of most cookies through the browser settings. To find out more about cookies, including how to see what cookies have been set and how to manage and delete them, visit www.aboutcookies.org or www.allaboutcookies.org.

To opt out of being tracked by Google Analytics across all websites visit https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.

Changes to this privacy policy

If this privacy policy changes in any way, we will place an updated version on this page. Regularly reviewing this page ensures you are always aware of what information we collect, how it is used, and under what circumstances, if any, it is shared with other parties.

Access to your information

If you wish to see the records of any correspondence you have sent to the IOPC, or if you have a query or complaint about this privacy policy or about the site, you can contact us by emailing [email protected].