PSNI treating laptop stolen from car in Co Antrim 'extremely seriously'

The Police Service of Northern Ireland is investigating a second data breach.

On Wednesday afternoon, the organisation said it was investigating the theft of documents, including a spreadsheet containing the names of more than 200 serving officers and staff, stolen from a private vehicle in Newtownabbey, near Belfast, on July 6.

It comes after police published sensitive details of all its serving officers and civilian staff in error following a Freedom of Information request.

Assistant Chief Constable Chris Todd, said they were treating the July theft of the laptop 'extremely seriously'.

He said: “The documents, along with a police issue laptop and radio, were believed to have been stolen from a private vehicle in the Newtownabbey area.

"We have contacted the officers and staff concerned to make them aware of the incident and an initial notification has been made to the office of the Information Commissioner regarding the data breach. “This is an issue we take extremely seriously and as our investigation continues we will keep the Northern Ireland Policing Board and the Information Commissioner’s Office updated.”

On Thursday the Policing Board is holding an emergency meeting following the publication of thousands of staff details.

The PSNI apologised and has set up a special group to assess the threat posed.

Chief Constable Simon Byrne has cut short his holiday to attend the meeting.

The incident happened when the PSNI responded to a Freedom of Information request seeking the number of officers and staff of all ranks and grades across the organisation. In the published response to this request a table was embedded which contained the rank and grade data, but also included detailed information that attached the surname, initial, location and departments for all PSNI employees. The data was potentially visible to the public for between two-and-a-half to three hours. A representative body for officers said they have been left “shocked, dismayed and basically angry” by the breach.

Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris said he spoke to Mr Byrne on Wednesday morning about the breach. “I continue to be kept abreast of developments in relation to this very serious matter,” he said.

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