Data Protection for Investigators in the private sector & Litigation Support Services

Data protection for investigators in the private sector and litigation support services is critical in ensuring confidentiality, integrity, and security of sensitive data gathered during investigations or legal proceedings.

The private sector often encounters complex situations that may require private investigators, legal professionals, and third-party service providers who may need to handle personal, financial, or corporate information as part of their work.

These services often involve handling highly sensitive data—such as personal, financial, corporate, or legal records. Protecting this information ensures that client privacy and legal confidentiality are maintained.

In litigation, maintaining the integrity and chain of custody of evidence is essential. Data breaches or tampering can invalidate evidence and undermine a case.

Data protection is fundamental to legal credibility and a single breach can jeopardise integrity, trust and, ultimately, business. Clients trust investigators and litigation professionals to safeguard their data. A breach can result in lost clients and damage to professional credibility.

Why join this course? 

• Understand why data protection should be at the top of the priorities list for any organisation.
• Learn who is responsible for data protection within private investigation and litigation services, and why management should be thorough.
• Learn how to stay compliant with legislative expectations and the impact of non-compliance.
• Discuss tools needed to secure data through the litigation process.
• Explore how ensuring data is accurate and safely secured supports the fairness and reliability of judicial outcomes.
• Understand the responsibilities all organisations hold when protecting the data protection of organisations and inviduals in any area of the litigation process, and the impact of a breach. 

What will we cover? 

• Overview of relevant data protection legislation 
• Rights of access and other data protection principles
• Key authorities – the ICO and ABI
• Data Protection Impact Assessments – background and when to complete one
• Overview of policies, processess and the relevance of ensuring adequate cyber and physical data protection
• Key roles, responsibilities and accountability within data protection – and how these impact the role of investigation and litigation 
• Legitimate interests, lawful bases and the public – how does data protection impact responsibilities within investigation and litigation? 

Aims of the training:

• To understand the specific data protection legislation, including UK GDPR
• Applying the data protection principles in relation to investigation and litigation support services 
• An overview of the Association of British Investigators Code of Conduct 
• Conducting Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs) relevant to investigators and litigation support services 
• Understanding consent and data protection for investigative purposes 
• Identifying legitimate interests when processing data  
• Applying relevant rights of access to investigation and litigation work and how this impacts the role of an investigator  

What does our online training invovle?

• Facilitated via Microsoft ‘Teams’ (2.5 hours duration with 30 additional minutes for questions).
• Our core presentation will be issued to delegates at least 4 working days in advance.
• We recommend that you study the course materials prior to the session, so you can highlight any areas that you may be specifically unsure of, or if you any specific issues/scenarios that you may want to discuss. Where possible these will be blended into the session.

After the session, time should be spent reflecting and consolidating training learnt into a development plan.

If you are interested in this course, please check our online training availability to the right or contact us for more information.