LONDON — The details of hundreds of crime victims, suspects and witnesses were accidentally shared by two police forces in their responses to freedom of information (FOI) requests.
Norfolk and Suffolk police said on Tuesday a “technical issue” meant the raw data, which could be used to identify individuals and included descriptions of offenses, was included in files provided in response to requests for crime statistics between April 2021 and March 2022.
The information related to domestic abuse, sexual offenses, assaults, thefts and hate crime.
The data was hidden from anyone who opened the files, but the forces are now contacting the 1,230 people whose data was breached, they said. The U.K. data watchdog, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), has also been notified.
The ICO confirmed it is investigating the breach, as well as a separate incident in November 2022, but said it is not yet able to determine the impact.
The disclosure comes a week after the Police Service of Northern Ireland said it had accidentally published online the names, rank and work locations of around 10,000 of its officers and staff, also in response to an FOI request.
Cumbria police made a similar error back in March, it admitted last week.
In a statement, Norfolk and Suffolk constabularies said: “Strenuous efforts have been made to determine if the data released has been accessed by anyone outside of policing. At this stage we have found nothing to suggest that this is the case.”
Eamonn Bridger of Suffolk Police, who led the investigation on behalf of both forces, said: “We would like to apologize that this incident occurred, and we sincerely regret any concern that it may have caused the people of Norfolk and Suffolk.”
