West Sussex County Council (WSCC), as convenor of the West Sussex Community Safety Partnership, has a statutory duty to manage a domestic homicide review into the circumstances in which the death of a person aged 16 or over has, or appears to have, resulted from violence, abuse or neglect by:
- a person to whom they were related or with whom they were or had been in an intimate personal relationship
- a member of the same household as themselves.
WSCC is a data controller under data protection legislation. This privacy notice concerns the processing of personal data that takes place by WSCC as part of a domestic homicide review.
This privacy notice explains:
- how personal information is going to be used
- what it is used for
- who it might be shared with and why
- how long it is kept.
The information you provide helps us deliver our services effectively.
Personal and special category data
We may collect and store records about you which may include:
- name
- contact details
- relationship to deceased
- minutes from meetings and interviews
- information from specialist providers, such as providers of domestic abuse services or provider of substance misuse services
- details of engagement with services
- safeguarding records
- medical records
- social care records
- details of any associated risk posed by, or to the person
- evidence from all parties containing records of any incidents of crime and anti-social behaviour
- details about vulnerabilities/disability or special requirements
- criminal record information supplied by crime prevention services such as the police or youth justice service.
Information that we collect from you will be obtained via face-to-face discussions and interviews, through email and telephone communications, via review of medical and social care records and via discussions with professionals who have been involved with the victims and their families. The council only uses IT systems for these purposes which are supplied under a contract and where the security has been assessed.
Data Controller
WSCC complies with the Data Protection Act and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). It is registered as a ‘Data Controller’ with the Information Commissioner’s Office (Reg. No. Z6413427).
The legal basis for processing personal data
Where we are processing personal data about you as part of a domestic homicide review, we rely upon the following lawful conditions:
Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004
- UK GDPR Article 6(1)(c) - processing that is necessary for CBC to fulfil a statutory obligation.
- UK GDPR Article 6(1)(e) - processing for the purposes of delivering a public task carried out in the public interest.
- UK GDPR Article 9(2)(b) - processing is necessary for the purposes of carrying out the obligations and exercising specific rights of the controller or of the data subject in the field of employment and social security and social protection law.
How we use your personal information
Data will be used to achieve the following purposes:
- to communicate with agencies and organisations who may hold relevant information, to obtain and update relevant information and to keep victim’s relatives informed of progress within the review
- establish what lessons can be learned from the domestic homicide regarding the way in which local professionals and organisations work individually and together to safeguard victims
- identify clearly what those lessons are both within and between agencies, how and within what timescales they will be acted on, and what is expected to change as a result
- apply these lessons to service responses including changes to inform national and local policies and procedures as appropriate
- prevent domestic violence and homicide and improve service responses for all domestic violence and abuse victims and their children by developing a co-ordinated multi-agency approach to ensure that domestic abuse is identified and responded to effectively at the earliest opportunity
- contribute to a better understanding of the nature of domestic violence and abuse
- highlight good practice.
Who we share your information with
When the decision to initiate a domestic homicide review is taken, an independent chair is appointed and a multi-agency review panel is convened.
The review panel is made up of representatives from a range of organisations who are best placed to contribute to the review and take forward any recommendations that come out of the process. We will securely share information relevant to the review with those organisations participating in the review process. This may include organisations such as:
- NHS Sussex Integrated Care Board
- Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust
- Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
- University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust
- Southeast Coast Ambulance Service
- IC24 GP Out of Hours Services
- Sussex Police
- Sussex Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner
- Adur and Worthing, Chichester, Arun, Crawley Borough, Mid-Sussex and Horsham District Councils
- WORTH Domestic Abuse Services
- Safe in Sussex Specialist Domestic Abuse Services
- My Sister’s House Organisation
- Paragon (The Your Trust) Specialist Domestic Abuse Services
- Change, Grow, Live Substance Misuse Services
- Turning Tides Homelessness Services
- National Probation Service
- Department of Work and Pensions
- West Sussex Citizen’s Advice Bureau.
We restrict the amount of personal data that is shared to the minimum necessary and only share information that is relevant to the review.
We may also share information to enable us to comply with court orders and other legal obligations. If this is necessary, we will only share the minimum amount of personal data needed for this purpose.
If we feel that it is necessary to share your personal data with professionals to ensure you or someone you work with is safeguarded from harm, we rely upon the provisions of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 and Children Act 1989 and 2004. Where it is necessary to share medical or social care information for these purposes, we rely upon article 9(2)(h) of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (information necessary for medical diagnosis, the provision of health or social care or treatment or the management of health or social care systems).
How long we keep your personal data
Personal data will not be retained for longer than is necessary in relation to the purposes for which they are collected.
The council is currently reviewing and updating its retention policies. See our records management page for published retention schedules.
Transfer outside the European Economic Area
If your data needs to be transferred, we will make sure that an adequate level of protection is in place.
Your rights
See our Privacy Policy for more information on your rights.
Complaints
See our Privacy Policy for information about making a complaint.