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Police to get their own 'test and trace' unit to protect confidential sources and methods

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Police officers with coronavirus symptoms are to have their own test and trace unit to safeguard their confidential sources, information and methods.

The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) is proposing to set up a special “outbreak team” within Public Health England (PHE) where vetted staff would deal with cases involving highly sensitive information that could compromise investigations if leaked.

It is envisaged the new guidelines will affect undercover officers, detectives investigating sensitive crimes, National Crime Agency (NCA) officers pursuing organised crime gangs and counter-terror specialists.

It is thought that similar arrangements will be put in place for agents working for the intelligence and security agencies MI6, MI5 and GCHQ.

“The guiding principle is that we are no different to the public in terms of complying, just that we have some sensitive data that needs protecting,” said a police source.

"If I'm working undercover with another officer, giving those details across could give away not just their information but the methodology of how we work, which would put people in danger."

An NPCC spokesman said: “Police forces are not setting up a contact tracing system for officers which is separate to the NHS Test and Trace service.

“In order to ensure information about policing activity and the privacy of members of the public is protected, police officers and staff will not be able to disclose sensitive information to the NHS Test and Trace service.

“The NPCC is in discussions with Public Health England to resolve this issue, and has proposed a system whereby police officers and staff in certain roles have their cases referred to a national vetted public health outbreak team.”

The new system is expected to be in place within weeks, as test and trace starts to increase. Until then, it is understood that any sensitive cases are likely to be dealt with through local resilience forums, which bring together council and emergency services.

Some health experts said it raised questions about the security of the system. "Contact tracing systems are based on trust," Allyson Pollock, director of Newcastle University's Institute of Health and Society, told Sky News.

"This tells you that the police don't trust the system and don't believe data will not be shared more widely, not just with the call handlers but the whole system. "I think the public needs to be asking very serious questions about this."