Dallas county allows criminals to shred confidential documents
DALLAS — Dallas County’s little-known community service program which lets convicted criminals sort and then shred confidential documents and personal information has come to an end after News 8 questioned the practice.
For more than a decade, parolees and probationers had been working off community service hours by destroying thousands of sensitive documents — including psychiatric exams of juveniles, copies of Social Security cards, birth certificates, court records, drug tests, and even medical records.
Many were clearly stamped “CONFIDENTIAL.”
One document reviewed by News 8 reads: “CONFIDENTIAL AND PRIVILEGED: This report is provided for your use ONLY. It should not be revealed to any person whatsoever — not even to the person(s) to whom it relates without the authorization of the court.”
Dallas County has ordered all of these documents to be destroyed, in keeping with its records retention policy. But neither the public nor many high-ranking county officials were aware that convicted criminals were handling the information.
At the minimum, this practice raises concerns of information security and identity theft. But experts said the county could face more serious scrutiny.
“This is serious,” said Matthew Yarbrough, a Dallas attorney who’s also a former federal prosecutor. “This is the sort of behavior or business process — even by the county — that is unacceptable.”
Dallas County could be liable, Yarbrough said, if anyone misuses the information.
Plus, having criminals handle medical records could mean Dallas County is violating federal privacy rights for medical records, known as HIPAA, Yarbrough added.
“Any convicted felon handling your personal patient information should be something that gives you pause,” he said.
Criminals have shred sensitive...
