2023-08-09 09:42:29
A document detailing the names and ranks of thousands of Northern Ireland police officers was mistakenly published online on Tuesday, raising concerns for the safety of these officers in the British province where law enforcement remains the target of violence sporadic.
Police in Northern Ireland said the leaked data included the workplace, surnames and first initials of staff members, but not their home addresses.
The incident happened as police responded to a routine request under the UK’s Freedom of Information Act. In its response, it mistakenly published a table containing its employees’ data, potentially visible to the public for three hours.
“We are aware of the concern this will cause for many of our colleagues and their families. We will do everything in our power to alleviate these concerns,” Northern Ireland Police official Chris Todd said on Tuesday evening.
He explained that “the matter is being thoroughly investigated”.
The incident comes months following the terror threat level in the British province was raised following an attempted assassination of a police officer by dissident Republicans.
The February attack on police officer John Caldwell caused shock in Northern Ireland, where police remain the target of sporadic violence following being regularly targeted during the three decades of the Northern Irish conflict.
On Wednesday, the chairman of the Northern Ireland Police Federation, Liam Kelly, called the data leak “monumental”, telling the BBC he had been “inundated” with messages from police officers.
“They are shocked, appalled and basically angry that this has happened,” he said. “Our officers go to great lengths to protect their identities. Some of them don’t even tell their close friends and associates regarding it,” he added.
They “work under the guise of the greatest potential threats, whether on or off duty”, according to Mr Kelly, “so it is important … that the organization protects them as well”.
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