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Mana Whanonga Pirihimana Motuhake

Home / Outcomes / 2021 Summaries of Police Investigations

Improper disclosure of personal information - Canterbury District

10 May 2021

The Authority oversaw a Police investigation into a complaint alleging Police made an inappropriate disclosure to a man charged with sexual offences against children. The man alerted Police that the disclosure he received included unnecessary detail regarding one of the potential victims.

The Police investigation found that an officer failed to redact the personal information of seven potential victims prior to sending disclosure to the complainant and his lawyer. Police contacted each person whose personal information had been compromised and apologised to them. They also took action to recover the unredacted documents from the complainant and his lawyer and thanked the complainant for bringing the privacy breaches to their attention.

Police are satisfied this was a human error and took remedial action with the officer involved. The Authority is satisfied with the steps taken and the outcome.

IPCA: 20-5120

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