August

Responding to a request from the BBC under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, Northumbria Police admitted almost 3,000 or nine out of ten of its officers still had not been vetted in line with the most recent policy.
 
The latest vetting guidelines introduced by the Association of Chief Police Officers require all new police officers and staff to be vetted, while serving officers are expected to undergo retrospective checks.
 
Out of 48 police forces, 17 responded in full to the FOI request. About 14,000 police officers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland had not undergone up-to-date checks. Officials said: "it is simply a question of volume outstripping the supply of people to do the tasks”.

Beginning this fall, Saskatoon police forces will be subject to provincial freedom of information law.
 
The Saskatoon Police Service hired its first access and privacy officer this spring, Kayla Oishi, who is in the process of developing the forms and procedures that will be needed to request documents from the police; in addition to information on what type of data can be requested from the police; what material won 't be given out; how and when freedom of information requests can be filed; and how long it will take for police to respond to public requests.

Although social media has made it easy for businesses to complete background checks, the practice of searching the internet brings with it an increased risk of privacy violation.
 
In May, the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia (OIPC) published a guidance document aimed at helping private organizations and pubic bodies navigate the relationship between social media background checks and privacy laws.
 
The OIPC recommends a privacy impact assessment be conducted that includes identifying the types and amount of information to be collected, ensuring policies and procedures are in place to address identified risks, and preparing the make accessible the information collected about an individual.