This privacy notice applies to all the functions of Dorset Coroner’s Office that are required for its effective administration and operation.

It provides privacy information for people accessing Dorset Coroner’s Service and partners working with BCP and Dorset County Councils. It describes how we collect, use and share personal information about you.

The Coroner is responsible for investigating deaths in certain circumstances. As part of the coronial investigation, personal data is collected to enable the Senior Coroner for Dorset, her Assistant Coroners, her officers and her staff to carry out the statutory responsibilities under the different legislative frameworks.

Who is the data controller?

The Senior Coroner for Dorset is the data controller for the purposes of the Data Protection Act 1998 other regulations including the General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679), which means they determine what your data is used for and why it is collected.

The Senior Coroner for Dorset is supported by a number of Assistant Coroners.

The contact details of the data controller are:

HM Senior Coroner for Dorset
Dorset Coroner's Court
Civic Centre
Bourne Avenue
Bournemouth BH2 6DY
Tel: 01202 123900

The personal information we hold and the legal basis for processing it

Where relevant, we will collect the following information:

• Name
• Date of Birth
• Medical history from GP and hospitals
• Cause of death
• Family details
• Lifestyle and social circumstances
• Addictions
• Financial details
• Employment and education details
• Occupation and place of work
• Offences and alleged offences contained in police report
• Physical or mental health details
• Racial or ethnic origin
• Religious or other beliefs
• Criminal proceedings, outcomes and sentences
• Results of DNA reports and finger reports results
• Juror information – name, address, bank account details to pay expenses
• Witnesses – name, address, bank account details to pay expenses

When deciding what personal information to collect, use and hold, we are committed to making sure that we will:

• Only collect, hold and use personal information where it is necessary and fair to do so
• Keep your personal information secure and safe
• Securely dispose of any personal information when it is no longer needed

We collect this data because we are required to under the Coroners Act 1988, the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 and its subordinate legislation, and other legislation appertaining to the administrative and judicial functions of the Coroner.

How long we will keep your data for?

Matters reported to the Senior Coroner for Dorset that are deaths due to natural causes (Form 100A and 100B) are held for 15 years, after which the paper copy data will be destroyed.

Electronic records will be held indefinitely.

Cases which result in an inquest are held indefinitely, in paper form and electronically.

Why we need to collect your data

The Senior Coroner and Assistant Coroners must investigate all deaths which are violent or unnatural; where the cause of death is unknown; death while in custody or state detention.

Your personal data is collected to enable us to administer the running of a Coroner's Office in order to carry out our statutory responsibilities under the different legislative frameworks.

In addition, we collect your personal data for the following:

• Service delivery
• Statistical analysis and reporting
• Safeguarding (future prevention of death)

Who we share your data with and why

As inquests are publicly accessible, this data could be shared with anyone attending the proceedings, including the press.

Article 23 of the GDPR introduces exemptions from the regulations of GDPR for the purpose of the protection of judicial independence and proceedings.

During the course of undertaking their statutory duties, the Senior Coroner and Assistant Coroners may share data with the following main organisations:

• BCP Council
• Dorset County Council
• Chief Coroner
• Dorset Police
• Pathologists
• Toxicologists
• Funeral directors in Dorset and surrounding areas
• Local Coroners – specifically those where cases are often transferred to/from
• NHS Hospital Trusts in the Dorset Coroner Area
• Clinical Commissioning Groups covering Dorset
• Ministry of Justice
• Dorset and Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service
• British Transport Police
• South West Ambulance Service Trust
• Crown Prosecution Service
• Health and Safety Executive
• General Practitioners
• Accident investigation branches
• BCP and Dorset County Council Register Office staff
• The Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Foreign Embassies
• Cemeteries and Crematoria in Dorset and surrounding area
• Families affected, appointed executor representative of the person whose personal data we are processing
• Financial organisations such as insurance companies and pension schemes
• Other organisations which from time to time are involved with an investigation and who are required to provide evidence or assistance to the Coroner

Where we have received your data from a third party

We primarily receive data from Dorset Police, NHS Hospital Trusts in the Dorset Coroner Area and General Practitioners, however data will be received from other organisations listed above. The data we have includes personal details and/or sensitive classes of data.

Automated decision making

All the decisions we make about you involve human intervention.

Will my data be transferred abroad?

Your data will not usually be transferred abroad, however if the death occurred abroad we may have to liaise with agencies located abroad. In these rare cases where the Coroner is required to share data outside of the EU, we will ensure adequate protections are made.

Use of CCTV

There is CCTV installed on the outside of our building and in the car parks for the purposes of monitoring building security and crime prevention and detection.

Images captured by CCTV will not be kept for longer than necessary. However, on occasions there may be a need to keep images for a longer period, for example where a crime is being investigated. CCTV images will only be disclosed to third parties for the purposes stated above. CCTV images will not be released to the media, used for entertainment purposes or placed on the internet.

Updates to Privacy Notice

We may update or revise this Privacy Notice at any time so please refer to the version published on our website for the most up to date details