Police say hands tied on stolen bike spotted on Gumtree due to data protection laws

Regardless of whether its on gumtree, ebay or anywhere else information will not be given out over the phone or in person unless there is a DPA form filled in and authorised.

That is then submitted to the relevant company to forward on the information. How quickly they do it is upto them and the Police have no control over that.

If a company / business / person gives info out without the correct authorisation then it is not admissable in court and any evidence gained from that will be kicked out - the person giving that info will also be in deep do do.

Having had to request info from the likes of ebay and gumtree they can really drag their feet but they also can be really quick.

The problem with gumtree is that anyone can create an account and sell gear and there is no real checks done about the person. It is a minefield at times.

Suggest Edinburgh old bill have a look at section 29 of the DPA which provides an exemption for the non disclosure of personal data for the purposes of crime prevention. In short, they just need to convince Gumtree that by disclosing the suspect's personal data it would be preventing crime or assisting in catching the suspect. Yes, Gumtree can refuse but, in my experience, data controllers (such as Gumtree and ISPs) will provide the information without the need for a warrant or a court order.

I've had 3 bikes nicked in my life and never had the pleasure of being reunited with any of them. The main thing I've learnt is to try and avoid the situation by locking bikes up properly, even at home. People might look at me oddly as I double lock my bike, but it's a whole lot less hassle than dealing with a theft.

I had a similar thing with eBay, I was advised by eBay to click the 'buy it now' option to make sure that someone else didn't buy the bike, because the police hadn't dealt with this sort of thing before they were unsure how to proceed. I was in constant communication with the police and they were actually really helpful, they went to the address as me, they then seized the bike along with several others and brought it back to the police station for me to ID and to take my statement. As there were several non-standard items on the bike the police were happy enough to hand it over to me then and there. I think the total time from seeing the bike on eBay to getting it back was under 24 hours.

Many people and organisations use data protection laws as an excuse for not giving out information. Usually, it's bollocks!

No wonder so many cyclists and cycle shops are targeted when the Police do not do their job

There is a specific provision in the Data Protection Act 1998 which permits disclosure of personal data where not doing so would be likely to prejudice criminal justice. I've blogged about this story here:

http://informationrightsandwrongs.com/2015/01/29/up-a-gum-tree/

If it was registered Police could drop around to the seller under the guise of a 'spot check'. But that would take effort of course.

Looks like the bike might also have been listed on Ebay by a seller with zero feedback, unfortunately.

The police need to check their understanding of DPA. I worked in data for a while and the purpose of the law is clear. That if you give someone data for one purpose, the person holding that data can't use it for a different purpose or pass it in to anyone else without your permission. Any time you give your data to a proper organisation then they will have two opt out buttons 1
saying can we keep contacting you with all our other stuff 2 can we let 3rd parties contact you.

Using an account to sell stolen goods will remove your DPA protection and the data holder has no obligation to protect you from disclosure to the police.

I would imagine that the data holder is simply refusing and the police are being overly polite. The threat of arrest for the person refusing and obstructing the course of justice ought to be applied.

People simply don't understand what the DPA is about. It's a perfectly common sense law about using your personal information for proper purposes, A police enquiry is a proper purpose and no-one is going to arrest you or sanction you for telling the police which of your customers is the one with the stolen bike.

Imagine the police turning up to a pub where they are looking for a person called John Smith and the landlord refusing to point him out because of client confidentiality? I think the landlord might find his feet not touching. The same should happen here. They should have Gumtrees guts for garters on obstruction.

Perhaps Mr Whitehead just doesn't know the proper handshake....

I'll bet it would have been recovered and the seller in pokey if it had been the Chief Constables bike that was nicked.