Crime Survey
This Privacy Notice applies to data submitted by respondents as part of the Online Crime Survey. This survey informs the development of the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW). Questions from the existing CSEW have been adapted to be suitable for an online survey, as opposed to the usual mode of face-to-face data collection. Results from this online survey will provide valuable insights into the way respondents provide details on their experience and views in relation to crime through a different survey instrument. This Notice explains who is processing your data, the personal data which will be collected, how it will be used, who it will be shared with, and what your legal rights are.
This research is conducted by Verian, the Data Processor, on behalf of The Office for National Statistics (ONS), the Data Controller. Verian are acting under the instructions of the ONS for the processing of this personal data. Please read this privacy policy carefully. This policy is written from the perspective of both the Data Controller and the Data Processor. It covers activities carried out in each role. For simplicity, we use “we” throughout to mean both the Controller and the Processor, unless otherwise stated. Where an activity applies only to one of these roles, we will make this clear. The definition of ‘personal data’ is information which relates to and can identify a living individual.
This policy explains how we, collect, store and how ONS use the personal data you provide when taking part in the online version of the survey and the online, face to face, telephone or postal methods which may be used to invite participants, manage opt outs or recontact participants. When we conduct surveys, our interviewers/ invitations/ platforms and questionnaires clearly identify us and explain the purpose(s) of our contact and if applicable, the purpose for our collecting your personal data. You may decline to answer any questions or withdraw from participation in a survey at any time.
When we contact you, generally in person, by telephone, by email or by post, we do so for any of the following purposes:
| Case | Purpose | Data collected / processed | Lawful Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inviting you to participate in our surveys | To provide the opportunity for a representative sample of individuals to participate in our surveys. | Dialled phone number, postal address, email address. | Processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the Data Controller. |
| Surveys | To understand your views about certain products and services or to understand your behaviour in different situations. To administer participation e.g. prize draws, incentives, pre-tasks etc. To re-contact participants e.g. for ongoing and follow-up surveys. | Unique identifier, contact details, email address, voice, image, opinion, special category personal data. |
Processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the Data Controller. Processing of special category data is necessary for statistical purposes. |
| Quality control | To validate answers you gave in a recent survey we conducted. | Unique identifier, contact details, email address. | We contact a sample of individuals who participated as part of a public task carried out in the public interest. |
| Fraud Protection | Protection of our business interests against fraudulent behaviour. | IP addresses, browser specifications, device specifications, postal addresses, email addresses. | As part of our public task and responsibilities carried out in the public interest, we take measures to protect against fraud or other prohibited behaviour. |
| Survey Participation Uniqueness | Prevention of multiple entries in surveys by the same individuals. | IP address, browser specifications, device specifications. | Processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the Data Controller. |
| Data Matching and Enrichment | We enrich the data we hold on file about you by matching your personal data with other data sources and third parties who specialise in data management. | Unique identifier, contact details, email address, social login, cookie, mobile device ID. | Processing is necessary in the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the Data Controller. Processing of special category data is necessary for statistical purposes. |
| Managing survey opt- outs | When an individual has requested not to be contacted again, we hold their details to enable this. | Name, postal address, telephone number. | Processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the Data Controller. |
| Safeguarding and prevention of harm. Prevention or detection of unlawful acts |
To protect the safety and wellbeing of participants or the wider public. | Contact information (may include health data). | As part of our public task carried out in the public interest, we aim to protect our participants and the wider public. We may also have a legal obligation to report potential criminal acts. |
We will never misrepresent ourselves or what we are doing. If you receive an email that concerns you, purporting to be from us, please let us know as shown below in ‘How to contact us’.
We have contacted you to take part in a survey by telephone, post, face to face or online by:
We collect and process personal data for the purposes described above, but we do not share or sell your personal data to any third parties, other than sharing with those detailed below, unless it is required by law, or you have agreed otherwise.
Under the Controllers (ONS) instruction, your personal data will be collected, stored, transferred or processed by Verian or an approved SubProcessor for Verian, for survey-related purposes, such as data processing, and fulfilment of prize draws or other incentives, within the UK and the EEA. All parties are contractually bound to keep any information they collect and disclose, or we collect and disclose to them, confidential and must protect it with sufficient security standards.
No data will be transferred outside of the UK in relation to this survey.
We have appropriate technological and organisational measures in place to protect your personal data and take all reasonable steps to ensure your personal data is processed securely. All information you provide us is stored on secure servers and environments.
All third-party contractors, site service providers and employees are contractually obliged to follow policies and procedures regarding confidentiality, security and privacy.
The Processor (Verian) and Controller (ONS) adhere to the following industry requirements:
Verian combine your survey responses in a given survey with the responses of all others who participate and report those combined responses to ONS, the Controller that commissioned the study who then further process and use the data.
The only exceptions when we may disclose your personal data or survey responses to additional third parties are as follows:
Cookies are small text files stored on your computer or device by a website that assigns a numerical user ID and stores certain information about your online browsing. They are used by web developers to help users navigate their websites efficiently and perform certain functions. The website sends information to the browser which then creates a text file. Every time the user goes back to the same website, the browser retrieves and sends this file to the website's server.
Verian do not use cookies on standard online in-house surveys. Where cookies are required by a partner’s platform (for instance, Merit, our incentive partner) this is notified by the platform privacy notice/policy.
As is true of most online surveys, Verian gather certain information automatically and store it in survey data files. This information may include things like Internet Protocol address (IP address), browser type, Internet Service Provider (ISP); referring/exit pages, operating system, and date/time stamp. This information is needed to ensure the survey works properly, the collection happens automatically as part of your connection to the survey and is considered strictly necessary for providing the service.
Verian use this automatically collected information to administer the site, e.g., to optimise the survey experience depending on your browser type.
We take all reasonable steps to keep your personal data accurate, complete, current and relevant, based on the most recent information provided to us. If you would like to update your personal data, please contact us using the details provided below.
We rely on you to help us keep your personal information accurate, complete and current by answering our questions honestly.
In the survey we may request to collect personal data that is classified as ‘special categories’ of personal data. This includes racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, or trade union membership, genetic data, biometric data for the purpose of uniquely identifying a natural person, data concerning health or data concerning a natural person's sex life or sexual orientation. You will always be able to choose whether to provide this data to us.
To request access to personal data that we hold about you, you should submit your request in writing to the e-mail address or postal address shown below in “How to Contact Us”. When you make a request, you should indicate your panellist ID or other survey identifier (e.g. from an email or letter you may have received).
If you contact us using an email address or contact details for which we do not hold a record of, you will also need to provide a copy of a valid government issued or official identification (such as drivers licence or passport).
Depending on the legal basis upon which your personal data is collected, your rights in relation to your personal data may include:
If necessary, we will notify any other parties such as our suppliers or service providers to whom we have transferred your personal data of any changes that we make when you make a request. Note that while we communicate to these third parties, we are not responsible for the actions taken by these third parties to answer your request. You may be able to access your personal data held by these third parties and correct, amend or delete it where it is inaccurate.
Verian keep your personal data as instructed by the Controller, only for as long as is necessary and only for the purposes for which it was collected. The period for which Verian keep your personal data will be determined by a number of criteria set out by the Controller, including the purposes for which the data is being processed, the amount and sensitivity of the information, the potential risk from any unauthorised use or disclosure of the information, and any legal and regulatory obligations. Personal data that is no longer required will be disposed of in ways that ensure their confidential nature is not compromised.
As part of the Company Business Continuity plan and as required by ISO27001, ISO9001, ISO20252 certifications where held, and in certain instances the law, Verian electronic systems are backed up and archived. These archives are retained for a defined period of time in a strictly controlled environment.
ONS hold the least amount of personal data possible and have measures in place to delete personal data or make them anonymous, where appropriate.
The law allows that information held for statistical purposes only, such as information from your questionnaire, may be kept for longer periods. ONS may recontact you about taking part in other surveys.
This privacy policy is kept under regular review, and it may be amended from time to time. We will always have the most up-to-date policy on this web page. We will record when the policy was last revised.
Date created: 13/06/11
Last revised: 19/08/2025
In certain circumstances, If instructed by ONS, the Controller, Verian may carry out automated decision making or profiling about you. This may include:
However, in the majority of cases, this will not result in any legally significant decisions being made about you. These activities are carried out as part of a public task carried out in the public interest. You have the right to appeal if any automated decision made about you is legally significant. If you have any questions about this please contact us.
If you are not happy with the way we have processed your personal data, we’d like a chance to put that right.
Please contact either Verian at UK-Compliance@veriangroup.com or in writing to, Head of Compliance, Verian, 4 Millbank, Westminster, London, SW1P 3JA or ONS at dpo@statistics.gov.uk.
We will investigate all complaints and attempt to resolve them and will amend policies and procedures as required.
If you have any questions or comments, you may also contact Verian’s Data Protection Officer at UK-Compliance@veriangroup.com or the Office for National Statistics Data Protection Officer at dpo@statistics.gov.uk or in writing to:
Data Protection Officer,
Office for National Statistics,
Segensworth Road, Titchfield,
Fareham,
Hampshire.
PO15 5RR
Telephone: 0345 601 3034
If you are not satisfied with how we handle and protect personal data and you consider there to have been a breach of UK GDPR, you have the right to complain to the Data Controller at the above address or to dpo@statistics.gov.uk.
You also have the right to complain to a supervisory authority such as the Information Commissioner’s Office in the UK, whose details can be found at www.ico.org.uk
Verian’s registered name and address are:
Verian
4 Millbank,
Westminster, London
SW1P 3JA
UK Companies House number 13663077