U.K. police need data retention rules.

Four U.K. police forces have been ordered to delete decades-old criminal records from the national computer because they breach privacy laws and are no longer relevant, according to BBC News.

The ruling came after four individuals complained to the U.K.'s Information Commissioner Richard Thomas about police retaining old, trivial records that appeared on Criminal Records Bureau checks and, thus, were affecting the individuals' job prospects. Thomas ordered the West Midlands, Humberside, Northumbria, and Staffordshire forces to destroy the records, but the police forces are appealing that ruling.

In a move that may have huge consequences for the storage of criminal records, the information commissioner said that holding decades-old information related to a minor citation runs counter to privacy laws. If the ruling stands, the BBC said it could lead to tens of thousands of records being deleted from the police national computer.

Assistant commissioner Mick Gorrill told the BBC: "Each case relates to individuals who have been convicted or cautioned on one occasion and have not been convicted of any other offenses." He added that the information was "no longer relevant" and "excessive for policing purposes."

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

For example, the Staffordshire police hold a record in which a 13-year-old girl was cited for minor assault. The police said the record would stay on file until she is 100. One record held by Humberside police relates to the theft of a packet of meat in 1984 when the perpetrator was 16. Another, held by police in the West Midlands, details an attempted theft committed more than 25 years ago, for which the individual was fined about $50.

A spokesman for Thomas told the BBC: "The Information Commissioner's Office is concerned that the old conviction information is held contrary to the principles of the Data Protection Act because the information is no longer relevant and is excessive for policing purposes. Personal data processed for any purpose should be adequate, relevant and not excessive, and should not be kept for longer than is necessary for that purpose."

The police have appealed to the Information Tribunal to resolve the issue, which means the files will not be deleted until at least January, when the case will be heard. The Association for Chief Police Officers said it was "regrettable" the commissioner had decided to make the cases public while they were under appeal.

Whatever the outcome, the situation presents a larger privacy question for police forces in the United Kingdom and beyond: How long should police be able to keep old or insignificant criminal records? Is it justified for police to hang on so long to records that could damage people's job, mortgage, and credit prospects years afterwards?

Thomas' initiative could lead to police in England and Wales revising their policy on storing criminal records in the national computer until a person is 100.

David Davis, the Shadow Home Secretary, told the BBC that there should be proper guidance for police on when and how they retain crime data. "If serious crimes have been committed, it is appropriate for information to be retained by the police" he said. "But in more trivial circumstances a greater degree of proportionality is required."