Day 121 - 04 May 95 - Page 57


     
     1
     2   Q.   Why not?  It does not say there has to be a minimum of such
     3        and such.
     4        A.  Because it has to be reasonably interpreted.
     5
     6   Q.   I do not know whether the stenographer wanted a break or
     7        not?
     8
     9   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Let us have it, five minutes break.
    10
    11                          (Short adjournment)
    12
    13   MS. STEEL:  How long are incident report forms kept for?
    14        A.  I do not think there is any rule on it; it would depend
    15        upon the subject matter.  They are now recorded on
    16        computer.  I would have thought that record is kept for a
    17        lot longer than the actual form is kept, unless the matter
    18        requires retention, and that decision be made by the
    19        department who is affected by the subject matter.
    20
    21   Q.   If it was a matter relating to Personnel?
    22        A.  Personnel are not great receivers of incident report
    23        forms.  They do get some.  I would have thought until the
    24        subject matter had been dealt with and put to bed and then
    25        they are probably shredded.
    26
    27   Q.   But it would be on the computer?
    28        A.  Yes, there would be a reference on the computer.
    29
    30   Q.   What about for the Security Department?
    31        A.  The Security Department would tend to keep it longer
    32        primarily, I think, because they are staffed by policemen
    33        and policemen hoard paperwork for ever.
    34
    35   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Old habits die hard.
    36        A.  Yes, I think it is traditional for policemen to hang on
    37        to stuff for ages.  They have a store file on every store
    38        within their region.  The Head Office department, I
    39        believe, has a file on every store in the country, so there
    40        is duplication, and they just happen to pop stuff in
    41        there.  Every now and again they will go and have a
    42        reduction in paper within those files, but I would have
    43        thought -- I am hazarding a guess -- the whole file is
    44        cleared at least once every two or three years unless there
    45        is reason to keep it.
    46
    47   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Hold on a moment, because I do not know how
    48        much of this is directly to the point.  What I suggest is
    49        you put the matter you are aiming at, because I cannot
    50        imagine several pages of my judgment being written about 
    51        how long incident reports are kept.  So I need to know what 
    52        actual incident which may be significant in the case you 
    53        are directing yourself at.
    54
    55   MS. STEEL:  It was actually something Mr. Nicholson said the
    56        other day.  He said something about an incident report form
    57        was filled out for something, and I have a note of the
    58        question and I cannot remember what it was.
    59
    60   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I know, but if Mr. Nicholson said he always

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