Employees in the police service must comply with a number of provisions relating to a duty of secrecy. Handling information that is classified on grounds of national security also triggers a duty of secrecy. As PST has a greater need than the rest of the police service to deal with classified information, PST’s employees will in many instances be under a duty of confidentiality that is also based on national security considerations.
Duty of secrecy lasts a lifetime
An exception is that in particular circumstances a decision may be taken to relieve a person from the duty of secrecy. Otherwise, every duty of secrecy is presumed to last a lifetime. The duty persists even after the person in question’s position, assignment, or office has been terminated.
The reasoning behind the duty of secrecy
The duty of secrecy for the police and prosecuting authority shall in part protect individuals or groups of individuals who are affected by our work, against their sensitive information falling into the wrong hands.
The specific duty of secrecy that relates to classified information is justified with regard to national independence and security and other critical national security interests.
Security classification calls for a duty of secrecy
Most of the information handled by PST has contents that are classified pursuant to the Security Act and related regulations.
In addition to the duty of secrecy itself, classified information entails a duty to protect the information in particular ways; for example, by keeping classified information in a safe which has a combination lock. This requirement derives from the Security Act and related regulations, which stipulate that anyone who has access to classified information in the course of their work, assignment or by virtue of their office is under a duty to prevent the information getting into the wrong hands.
The security levels under the Security Act and related regulations are TOP SECRET, SECRET, CONFIDENTIAL and RESTRICTED.
The Data Protection Code of Practice also calls for a duty of secrecy
The public administration’s duty of secrecy is enhanced by the Data Protection Code of Practice, which relates to information that needs to be protected for reasons other than those outlined in the Security Act and related regulations. When information is deemed by the Security Act to be classified, this increases the general duty of secrecy.
When the conditions for classification under the Data Protection Code of Practice have been met, the information shall be classified as follows: STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL is used if the result of the information getting into the wrong hands could be significant damage to public interest, a business, an institution or an individual. CONFIDENTIAL is used if the result of the information getting into the wrong hands could be damage to public interest, a business, an institution or an individual.