Police computer misuse: know your rights

Victims of a data breach that involves police computer misuse can be entitled to claim data breach compensation, and we may be able to offer No Win, No Fee representation.

No one is above the law, and you have rights. With our expertise and specialism in the niche and complex area of law, you don’t need to worry about going up against the authorities for a legal case. We may be able to represent you and we will fight for your rights to justice if your privacy has been abused.

As a leading firm of data breach specialists, we are your voice for justice. Here’s how we may be able to help you.

Compensation for police computer misuse

Victims of a data breach that has arisen from police computer misuse can be entitled to make a claim for compensation. We offer No Win, No Fee representation for this kind of case where we believe that there’s a good enough change that the legal case will succeed.

Data laws are clear when it comes to the misuse of people’s information. Information should only be accessed and used where it is appropriate to do so. Any inappropriate abuse of access to databases like police computers can amount to a breach of the GDPR and the preceding Data protection Action 1998.

No one is above the law. Whilst it’s vital that officers are able to access such databases to keep us safe, it’s not acceptable for officers or police employees to be abusing their right to access information for personal or inappropriate reasons. Commonly, incidents arise from “snooping” where someone accesses information about people they know without reason or authority to do so. It could be looking at data for friends, family, neighbours, partners, ex-partners etc.

If a person’s information is misused in such a way, the victim should be made aware as to what has happened. The victim could then be entitled to claim compensation.

How does a claim like this work?

A data breach compensation claim for police computer misuse will normally be a legal case for damages for the distress suffered by the loss of control of your personal information. This distress could be significant if there’s data that you would not want someone else to know.

Given that many of these incidents arise from people snooping on other persons that they know, the distress can be worse.

The level of distress suffered can depend on the nature of the data that has been abused, how much is involved, and who is responsible for the breach. We can take these factors into account when we value the data breach compensation claim in terms of amounts and pay-outs. Our duty is to always fight for the best and fairest settlement that we can, and we will leave no stone unturned as part of our mission to achieve this.

For free, no-obligation advice from the team about your options for justice now, please contact us today for help.

Recent Peterborough Police incident

There has been a recent case of police computer misuse that amounted to a breach of data protection law, involving Peterborough Police. According to recent media reports, former PC Lorna Throley was dismissed for using a police computer to search for information about family members over a sustained period of time.

A misconduct hearing resulted in the officer being dismissed without notice, and a defence that the actions were for “safeguarding reasons” was not accepted.

Remember: no one should be above the law.

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