Guidelines for Handling Illegal Material

3. Rules for staff

The basic rules for staff when dealing with illegal materials are:

Staff must only act when they have been given specific written authorisation by The Authorizer and in accordance with that authorisation and this procedure.
The role of the organisation's staff is only to confirm the presence of illegal material, to prevent further access to the material and to do the least possible damage to evidence.
Staff must report to the police as soon as the presence of illegal material is confirmed and must follow the directions of the police thereafter. The police should normally be contacted by The Authorizer, but if they are not available then the police should be called direct and management informed as soon as possible.
If any delay threatens the organisation's response to the report then the matter must be handed to the police immediately.
Any information obtained as a result of actions under these guidelines must be treated as strictly confidential.

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