I've recently been exchanging emails with a police officer who contacted me for some information on a complaint they had recently received.
It's basically a grievance between two companies that have business units on the same industrial estate where I also have a unit.
Business A contacted me with loads of information about some wrongdoing that Business B had supposedly committed. They contacted me because I have had some business dealings myself with B.
A have been going to some lengths apparently to badmouth B and I am not the only person they have contacted.
Now the police are involved as B is claiming harassment. Police can't decide whether it's a civil case or a criminal one at the moment but had a few questions for me to answer via email.
I've replied to those but they would now like me to send screen shots of text messages and also to forward on email correspondence from A.
My question is, where do I stand on this in terms of GDPR or Data Protection? I have only had email conversations with this particular officer so far and the request to hand over what are essentially private conversations and personal contact information seems a bit 'informal'?
Both A and B (from what I can see) are rather unpleasant characters and (probably) both as bad as each other. I usually manage to avoid other people's dramas so I'm annoyed that I have been unwillingly dragged into this in the first place.
I would always support and cooperate with the police however but now wondering where I stand handing over private correspondence.
I would feel happier if I was asked to give a formal statement or ordered by a court to hand over the information, that way they'd be no risk that nutjob Company A could make some sort of claim against me for breach of privacy or something.
Anyone from a police or legal background know if there should be a more formal process here or if Company A could make a claim against me?