Norfolk and Suffolk Police leaks personal information of 1,230 people, including victims of crime
The personal information of 1,230 people including victims of crime and witnesses was included in Freedom of Information responses issued by Norfolk and Suffolk Police, the forces said.
The data related to a range of offences, including domestic incidents, sexual offences, assaults, thefts and hate crime.
It comes after PSNI police chiefs said leaked workforce data from Northern Ireland’s police force is now likely in the hands of dissident republican groups.
In a statement, Norfolk and Suffolk constabularies said they had “have identified an issue relating to a very small percentage of responses” to Freedom of Information (FOI) requests for crime statistics, issued between April 2021 and March 2022.
“A technical issue has led to some raw data belonging to the constabularies being included within the files produced in response to the FOI requests in question. The data was hidden from anyone opening the files, but it should not have been included,” a police spokesperson said.
“The data impacted was information held on a specific police system and related to crime reports. The data includes personal identifiable information on victims, witnesses, and suspects, as well as descriptions of offences.”
Police officers have started contacting individuals affected by letter, phone, and in some cases, face to face “depending on what information was impacted and what support is required”.
The process is due to to be completed by the end of September.
Assistant Chief Constable of Suffolk Police, Eamonn Bridger, who led the investigation, said: “We would like to apologise that this incident occurred, and we sincerely regret any concern that it may have caused the people of Norfolk and Suffolk.
“I would like to reassure the public that procedures for handling FOI requests made to Norfolk and Suffolk constabularies are subject to continuous review to ensure that all data under the constabularies’ control is properly protected.”
This story is being updated.
