"We hope the talk would also help to alleviate the problems being faced by Force Data Administrators (FDAs), mostly officers performing Assistant Divisional Commander (Administration) duties,"said Mr Lau.

Speaking of the problems facing FDAs, Mr Lau said they receive and handle a significant number of personal data access requests every day mainly from insurance companies and legal firms for insurance and civil claim purposes. As the requests vary in terms of standard and clarity, FDAs very often have to do extra work in seeking clarifications or sending extra correspondences to the parties concerned before their requests can be processed.

Over 130 data protection officers, together with 20 officers playing the role of FDA, attended the talk, during which Mr Lau outlined the legal obligations of data users as laid down by the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance, some common misconceptions, and application of the provisions of the Ordinance with regard to relevant court judgments and case studies.

He pointed out that the talk was well received by the Club members. "I would like to thank the FDAs for their participation which made the event a big step forward in enhancing mutual understanding between the Force, as a data user, and the Club members who make data access requests to the Police from time to time,"he said.

For the benefit of other Force members, the E-version of Mr Lau's talk will be uploaded onto the POINT soon.

The Data Protection Officers' Club was set up by the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (PCO) as a gateway to an extensive network of professionals who are tasked with the responsibility of implementing and co-ordinating measures to protect personal data privacy in Hong Kong. It provides a channel for two-way communication between the PCO and data protection officers across a broad range of organisations.

CIP Armen Lau explains the Force's policy on handling data access requests