Police publish names of sex assault victims
A POLICE boss apologised yesterday after details of sex assault victims were revealed on his force’s website.
They are believed to have included names, addresses, dates of birth and details of the assaults.
A member of the public who saw the data said hundreds of victims had been identified by Suffolk Police.
The force, said to have been told of the data breach last week, took the information offline immediately.An investigation has been launched.
Publishing any details that could directly or indirectly identify a victim is an offence.
Suffolk’s police and crime commissioner, Tim Passmore, said: “I want to make it clear I am extremely sorry and issue an unreserved apology for anyone who might have been affected.
“I can understand the huge concern it might have caused people who have been victims of this sort of terrible crime.
“I need to know how this error occurred and be reassured measures are in place to avoid it happening again.”
Mr Passmore has told Deputy Chief Constable Rob Jones to support “anyone in distress” and make sure the inquiry is completed quickly. A force spokesman said:
“An investigation is now taking place.We take our obligations under the Data Protection Act very seriously.
“We will be speaking to anyone we believe would be affected to ensure they are supported and we will also be apologising to them.”
It is thought the data could be accessed only briefly and was in a part of the website that could not be easily found.
Support group Suffolk Rape Crisis said: “Survivors of sexual violence are entitled to lifetime anonymity.
“If perpetrators were to have access to women’s addresses and contact details, this would be a considerable safety risk.”