It has been reported by a number of sources that over 400,000 records stored on British police databases have been accidentally deleted as a result of a coding problem that occurred on 10 January 2021.
The records that were compromised – which include DNA, fingerprints and arrest records – are expected to be recoverable, however the mass deletion has prompted numerous confidentiality protocol concerns.
The Guardian reports that in a letter sent to Senior Officers on the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), Naveed Malik – Deputy Chief Constable and Lead for the organisation on the PNC (Police National Computer) – explained how many records were affected: “In PNC approximately 213,000 offence records, 175,000 arrest records and 15,000 person records have potentially been deleted in error.
“In terms of understanding the potential linkage between records, a one-person record can have multiple arrest records and one arrest record can have multiple offences linked to it.
“Approximately 26,000 DNA records corresponding to 21,710 subjects have potentially been deleted in error, including records that have previously been marked for indefinite retention following conviction of serious offences.”
Home Secretary Priti Patel commented (via Reuters): “So first of all let me just clarify this – this is a coding issue. We talk about a figure of 400,000 but the actual figure could actually be a lot less.”
