Visitors to our website

When someone visits our website we use a third-party service, Google Analytics, to collect standard internet log information and details of visitor behaviour patterns. We do this to find out things such as the number of visitors to the various parts of the site. This information is only processed in a way which does not identify anyone. We do not make, and do not allow Google to make, any attempt to find out the identities of those visiting our website. If we do want to collect personally identifiable information through our website, we will be upfront about this. We will make it clear when we collect personal information and will explain what we intend to do with it. For example, we will ask for personal information (email address and consent to have it) when people sign up to our newsletter. 

Newsletter

We use a third-party provider, Pure 360, to manage our newsletters. This system securely stores the information you submit. We only gather the information we need, which is your email address and your consent. We gather statistics around email opening and clicks using industry standard technologies to help us monitor and improve our newsletters. We will send you news from MOPAC, in a regular bulletin, with information on events, consultations and funding opportunities. We will not share this information with any other organisations. We will keep you on our contact list until you unsubscribe.

Social media

We use a third-party provider, Sprout, to manage our social media interactions. If you send us a private or direct message via social media the message will be stored by Sprout for three months, after which it will be deleted. It will not be shared with any other organisations unless you ask us to share it. 

If you email us

All email to and from MOPAC is encrypted. If your email service does not support our encryption systems, email we send or receive may not be protected in transit. We will monitor all emails, including file attachments for viruses or malicious software. Please be aware that you have a responsibility to ensure that any email you send is within the bounds of law.

Use of cookies and how you can disable them

A cookie is a piece of text that a website transfers to your computer's hard disk so that it can remember who you are. They make interaction between your computer and our website faster and easier by remembering any registration details and preferences from previous visits. A cookie will typically contain the name of the website from which the cookie has come, the lifetime of the cookie and a value. It does not give us access to the rest of your computer and only the site that created the cookie can read it. 

We use the following types of cookie:

Session cookies: to ensure you are recognised when you move from page to page within our site and that any information you enter is remembered.

Persistent cookies: to recognise you as a unique visitor to our website so that we can tailor content to match your interests.

You can control cookies through your web browser, just click on browser settings to find out the options your chosen browser allows. If you’d like to learn more about cookies, including how they have been set and how to manage them, visit All About Cookies.

YouTube cookies

We embed videos from YouTube, therefore, due to YouTube's privacy-enhanced policy you may find that cookies are set on your computer once you have clicked to play the videos. However YouTube doesn't store personally-identifiable cookie information relating to playbacks of embedded videos when using their privacy-enhanced mode. You can find out more at YouTube Help

Contacting the Victims’ Commissioner

When you contact the London Victims’ Commissioner (face to face, via email, letter or social media or referred from the Mayor’s Office or other partners) we may use your anonymised story to improve the victim’s experience in London.

We will not use or share your personal details or story without your consent, unless we believe your safety – or the safety of others – is at risk. If that is the case, we may contact the Metropolitan Police at the earliest opportunity to ensure that persons at risk are protected from harm.

You may be contacted by MOPAC in the future to ask for your views to help improve victims’ experiences in London.

Contacting the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime

When you contact our Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime (face to face, via email, letter, on the phone, by engaging in a consultation, social media or are referred from the Mayor’s Office or other partners) we may use your anonymised story to improve policing in London.

We will not use or share your personal details or story without your consent, unless we believe your safety – or the safety of others – is at risk. If that is the case, we may contact the Metropolitan Police at the earliest opportunity to ensure that persons at risk are protected from harm.

You may be contacted by MOPAC in the future to ask for your views to help improve policing in London.

Making a complaint

MOPAC has responsibility for the consideration of two categories of public complaints:

1. complaints about the work of MOPAC: our customer service, policies or staff. These complaints will be handled in accordance with the complaints policy
2. complaints about the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS). If you feel that the conduct of the MPS Commissioner has failed to meet the Standards of Professional Behaviour as set out in the Police (Conduct) Regulations 2008 you can make a complaint to MOPAC. MOPAC is the Appropriate Authority assigned with the statutory responsibility for these complaints. Read the complaints policy 

We will process the personal information that you supply to us for the purpose of performing the public task of investigating and responding to your complaint.

Where your complaint is concerned with the conduct of the MPS Commissioner, MOPAC may share your personal information with, or seek to obtain personal information about you, from the MPS, if required to properly investigate your complaint.

We may also share your personal information with the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) if we are required by law to refer your complaint to it.

We will not disclose any of your personal information to any other organisation or person for any other purpose without your clear and prior consent, unless required to do so by law.

In accordance with MOPAC’s Retention, Review and Disposal Policy, correspondence and any personal information submitted in relation to your complaint will be retained for eight years from the date of the last action undertaken to address/resolve your case.

For further details about how your personal information is used, how we maintain the security of your personal information, and your rights to access personal information we hold about you, email [email protected]

Making an enquiry, writing to us or calling us

When you contact MOPAC via email or post with a question, concern, compliment or to share your views we will process the personal information that you supply to us so we are able to respond, where appropriate.

Where your enquiry relates to the MPS, MOPAC may share your personal information with, or seek to obtain personal information about you, from the MPS, if required to fully respond to your enquiry.

We will not disclose any of your personal information to any other organisation or person for any other purpose without your clear and prior consent, unless there is an apparent risk to safety or we are required to do so by law. Where someone makes contact with us and that contact gives us concern that a crime is about to take place, or that someone’s safety is at risk, we may pass that information on to the Metropolitan Police for their attention.

In accordance with MOPAC’s Retention, Review and Disposal Policy, correspondence and any personal information submitted in relation to your query will be retained for eight years from the date of the last action undertaken to address/resolve your case.

If you call MOPAC with a question, concern, compliment or to share your views, and would like a written response, we will ask you to put your enquiry in writing.  

Making a Freedom of Information request (FoI) 

When you contact MOPAC in writing with an FoI, we will process the personal information that you supply to us so we are able to respond, where appropriate.

Where your FOI relates to the MPS, MOPAC may share your personal information with, or seek to obtain personal information about you, from the MPS, if required to fully respond to your enquiry.

Where your FOI relates to the Greater London Authority (GLA), MOPAC may share your personal information with, or seek to obtain personal information about you, from the GLA, if required to fully respond to your enquiry. We will not disclose any of your personal information to any other organisation or person for any other purpose without your clear and prior consent, unless required to do so by law.

In accordance with MOPAC’s Retention, Review and Disposal Policy, correspondence and any personal information submitted in relation to your FoI will be retained for eight years from the date of the last action undertaken to address your FoI.

Making a Subject Access Request (SAR)

When you contact MOPAC in writing with a SAR we will process the personal information that you supply to us so we are able to respond. We will not disclose any of your personal information to any other organisation or person for any other purpose without your clear and prior consent, unless required to do so by law. In accordance with MOPAC’s Retention, Review and Disposal Policy, correspondence and any personal information submitted in relation to your SAR will be retained for eight years from the date of the last action undertaken to address your SAR. 

When organising an event, MOPAC may ask attendees for contact information to assist us in facilitating ongoing engagement after the event, and feedback on the event itself to help us improve our work. Any information we gather will be held securely on MOPAC’s systems, and will be retained for seven years, in line with MOPAC’s Retention, Review and Disposal Policy. We will not disclose any of your personal information to any other organisation or person for any other purpose without your clear and prior consent, unless we are required to do so by law.

Responding to our consultations

MOPAC conducts consultations using a variety of methods. For those who contribute to consultations via email, in writing or at events, we will use their anonymised feedback to inform the strategy or policy being consulted on.

We will not disclose any of your personal information to any other organisation or person for any other purpose without your clear and prior consent, unless required to do so by law. MOPAC works with Talk London to facilitate some consultations. Read Talk London’s privacy policy.

Contributing to our research

We use a third-party provider, Opinion Research Services, to conduct interviews for both the User Satisfaction (USS) and Public Attitude Surveys (PAS).  In the case of the former, personal information is used to identify potential interviewees from a cohort derived from police recorded information. This is transferred to the provider securely and any information retained by us is securely stored.

We retain links to police recorded information where respondents provide their explicit consent for us to do so. This data will be retained for a period of three years. We also collect and store demographic information from respondents to the surveys, to ensure that our research samples are representative of the population of London. 

Our third-party provider also conducts face to face interviews with Londoners for the PAS. The personal information of individuals, other than demographic information, is not collected and stored by MOPAC.

We use an online survey platform hosted by our third-party research partner which allows us to build online surveys to capture feedback and opinions from stakeholders and members of the public. In these circumstances personal information is only collected with the explicit consent of respondents and will only be stored if necessary.

We also conduct bespoke research that may involve face to face interviews and focus groups. For these, consent will be requested from those participating for recordings of the interviews or groups to be made. Following these recordings being transcribed, the original recordings are destroyed. The transcripts are stored securely, with anonymised references to the individual concerned included, and are deleted upon the publication of the resultant research.

MOPAC volunteers Safer Neighbourhood Boards

We use a third-party provider, Pure 360, to manage the information we hold about you. This system securely stores the information you submit. We only gather the information we need, which is your name, email address and a contact telephone number. We gather this information to facilitate the annual Safer Neighbourhood Board (SNB) funding programme, SNB forum meetings, and development and support activities. We will not share your information with any other organisations. Any personal information associated with the funding programme (eg contained within funding applications) will be destroyed after seven years in line with our retention policy for financial records.

Independent Custody Visitors

We use a third-party database, Connect, to manage the information we hold about you. This system securely stores the information you submit. We only gather the information we need, which is your name, postal address, email address, a contact telephone number, bank details for payment of expenses, information pertaining to the vetting of prospective independent custody visitors. We gather this information to facilitate the recruitment and retention of independent custody visitors and the management and delivery of the London Independent Custody Visiting Scheme, including for training and development purposes. We will send you a MOPAC update with specific information about the London Scheme and custody visiting in general. We will only share this information with the Metropolitan Police Service. Any personal information we hold about you will be destroyed eight years after the last action in line with our retention policy.

Stop & Search community monitoring network

We use a third-party provider, Pure 360, to manage our stakeholder information. This system securely stores the information you submit. We only gather the information we need, which is your name, email address and a contact telephone number. We gather this information to facilitate the stop and search community monitoring network meetings and training and development activities. We may send you MOPAC updates with specific information about the Community Monitoring Network and on stop and search more generally. Any personal information associated with the funding programme (i.e. contained within funding applications) will be destroyed after seven years in line with our retention policy for financial records.

Doing business with MOPAC or receiving MOPAC funding

MOPAC interacts with a range of organisations on financial transactions – this may be companies and suppliers doing business with MOPAC or contracted through MOPAC for services to the MPS; organisations applying for funding or receiving funding; and commissioned services funded by MOPAC.

We will not disclose any of your personal information to any other organisation or person for any other purpose without your clear and prior consent, unless required to do so by law.

In accordance with MOPAC’s Retention, Review and Disposal Policy any information pertaining to your organisation will be retained for eight years

Audit, Risk and Assurance

MOPAC’s Directorate of Audit, Risk and Assurance (DARA) may use data provided to it to fulfil its obligations under:

The National Fraud Initiative

• local Fraud Initiatives
• data matching under local and national fraud initiatives

DARA-Internal Auditing Activities

• corporate administration and all activities we are required to carry out as a data controller and public authority

We will not disclose any of your personal information to any other organisation or person for any other purpose without your clear and prior consent, unless required to do so by law.

Job applicants, current and former Information Commissioner’s Office employees

MOPAC is the data controller for the information you provide during the process unless otherwise stated. If you have any queries about the process or how we handle your information please contact us at [email protected].

What will we do with the information you provide to us?

All of the information you provide during the process will only be used for the purpose of progressing your application, or to fulfil legal or regulatory requirements if necessary.

We will not share any of the information you provide during the recruitment process with any third parties for marketing purposes or store any of your information outside of the European Economic Area. The information you provide will be held securely by us and/or our data processors whether the information is in electronic or physical format.

We will use the contact details you provide to us to contact you to progress your application. We will use the other information you provide to assess your suitability for the role you have applied for.

What information do we ask for, and why?

We do not collect more information than we need to fulfil our stated purposes and will not retain it for longer than is necessary.

The information we ask for is used to assess your suitability for employment. You don’t have to provide what we ask for but it might affect your application if you don’t.

Application stage

If you use our online application system, this will be collected by a data processor on our behalf (please see below).

We ask you for your personal details including name and contact details. We will also ask you about your previous experience the role you have applied for. Our HR and recruitment team will have access to all of this information.

You will also be asked to provide equal opportunities information. This is not mandatory information – if you don’t provide it, it will not affect your application. This information will not be made available to any staff outside of our HR and recruitment team, including hiring managers, in a way which can identify you. Any information you do provide, will be used only to produce and monitor equal opportunities statistics.

Shortlisting

Our hiring managers shortlist applications for interview. They will not be provided with your name or contact details or with your equal opportunities information if you have provided it.

Assessments

We might ask you to participate in assessment days; complete tests; and/or to attend an interview – or a combination of these. Information will be generated by you and by us. For example, you might complete a written test or we might take interview notes. This information is held by MOPAC.

If you are unsuccessful following an assessment for the position you have applied for, we may retain your details in our merit list for a period of six months and be in touch with you if there is a suitable job.

Conditional offer

If we make a conditional offer of employment we will ask you for information so that we can carry out pre-employment checks. You must successfully complete pre-employment checks to progress to a final offer. We are required to confirm the identity of our staff, their right to work in the United Kingdom and seek assurance as to their trustworthiness, integrity and reliability.

You will therefore be required to provide:

• proof of your identity – you will be asked to attend our office with original documents, we will take copies
• proof of your qualifications – you will be asked to attend our office with original documents, we will take copies
• you will be asked to complete security vetting forms which will be processed by the Metropolitan Police Service
• we will check whether you are on the Barred or Advisory list
• we will contact your referees, using the details you provide in your application, directly to obtain references
• we will also ask you to complete a questionnaire about your health. This is to establish your fitness to work

If we make a final offer, we will also ask you for the following:

• bank details – to process salary payments
• emergency contact details – so we know who to contact in case you have an emergency at work
• membership of a Civil Service Pension scheme – so we can send you a questionnaire to determine whether you are eligible to re-join your previous scheme

Post-start date

Our Code of Conduct requires all staff to declare if they have any potential conflicts of interest.

Use of data processors

Data processors are third parties who provide elements of our recruitment service for us. We have contracts in place with our data processors. This means that they cannot do anything with your personal information unless we have instructed them to do it. They will not share your personal information with any organisation apart from us. They will hold it securely and retain it for the period we instruct.

Havas People

If you use our online application system, you will provide the requested information to Havas People, who provide a recruitment service to us using the recruitment system Engage ATS. Once you click ‘apply now’ you will be taken to the Engage ATS website and it will hold the information you submit but MOPAC will have access to it.

Read their Privacy Notice.

Greater London Authority (GLA) HR Shared Service

If you are employed by MOPAC, relevant details about you will be provided to the GLA HR Services who provide HR services to MOPAC. This will include your name, bank details, address, date of birth, National Insurance number and salary information.

Read their Privacy Notice

Payroll

If you are employed by MOPAC, relevant details about you will be provided to the payroll provider Shared Services Connected Ltd who process employee payroll on behalf of MOPAC.

Read their Privacy Notice

Optima Health

Optima Health provide our Occupational Health service. If we make you a conditional offer, we will ask that you complete a questionnaire which will help to determine if you are fit to undertake the work that you have been offered, or advise us if any adjustments are needed to the work environment or systems so that you may work effectively.

We will email you the questionnaire which you will then send back to us. The information you provide will be sent to Optima Health who will provide us with a fit to work certificate or a report with recommendations. You are able to request to see the report before it is sent to us. If you decline for us to see it, then this could affect your job offer. If an occupational health assessment is required, this is likely to be carried out by Health Management.

Read their Privacy Notice

Midland HR

Midland HR If you accept a final offer from us, some of your personnel records will be held by Midland HR on iTrent which is an HR records system used by the Greater London Authority.

Read their Privacy Notice

Security Vetting

Prior to commencing a role with MOPAC, you will be required to have security clearance. You will complete the security vetting form which is shared with the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS). Once your vetting has been cleared, the result will be shared with MOPAC and forwarded to you.

Read their Privacy Notice

Reed

For temporary agency workers, we sometimes advertise through Reed. They will collect the application information and send us a candidate CV with the candidate’s name. The hiring manager would then assess the suitability of the CV and may proceed to an interview. If a temporary agency worker is hired, Reed will share their vetting details with MOPAC.

Read their Privacy Notice

Allen Lane

For senior vacancies, we sometimes advertise through Allen Lane. They will collect the application information to assess your suitability for the role you have applied for, the results of which are assessed by recruiters. Information collected by Allen Lane will be retained for two years after our relationship with the candidate has ceased to exist.

Read their Privacy Notice

How long is the information retained for?

If you are successful, the information you provide during the application process will be retained by us as part of your employee file for the duration of your employment, plus eight years following the end of your employment or retirement. This includes advertisements, applications forms, interview notes and references.

If you are unsuccessful at any stage of the process, the information you have provided until that point will be retained for six months from the closure of the campaign. We may retain your details if you met our merit list and we may get in touch with you if there is a suitable role.

Information generated throughout the assessment process, for example interview notes, is retained by us for six months following the closure of the campaign.

Equal opportunities information is retained for six months following the closure of the campaign whether you are successful or not.

Havas People will provide us with management information about our recruitment campaigns. This is anonymised information which tells us about the effectiveness of campaigns, for example, from which source did we get the most candidates, equal opportunities information for monitoring purposes. This anonymised information will be retained for eight years from the end of the campaign.

How we make decisions about recruitment

Final recruitment decisions are made by hiring managers and members of our HR and recruitment team. All of the information gathered during the application process is taken into account.

You are able to ask about decisions made about your application by speaking to your contact within our HR and recruitment team or by emailing [email protected]

Secondments

We also offer opportunities for people to come and work with us on a secondment basis. We accept applications from individuals or from organisations who think they could benefit from their staff working with us.

Applications are sent directly to MOPAC. Once we have considered your application, if we are interested in speaking to you further, we’ll contact you using the details you provided.

We might ask you to provide more information about your skills and experience or invite you to an interview.

If you are seconded to MOPAC, we will ask that you adhere to the MOPAC Code of Conduct.

Also, you will be expected to adhere to a confidentiality agreement and code of conduct which will be agreed with your organisation.

We might also ask you to complete our pre-employment checks or to obtain security clearance via the Metropolitan Police Service process – both of which are described in this Notice above. Whether you need to do this will depend on the type of work you will be doing for us.

We ask for this information so that we fulfil our obligations to avoid conflicts of interest and to protect the information we hold.

Your application information will be retained for the duration of your secondment plus eight years following the end of your secondment. Your personnel records, including your secondment agreement and references will be retained for the duration of your secondment plus 10 years after the end of your secondment.