Police disclosed domestic abuse victim's address

A reprimand has been issued to Staffordshire Police after it disclosed a domestic abuse victim's home address to their alleged abuser.

The force issued a notice - intended to protect a victim - which included the details, when it was served on the alleged perpetrator following their release from prison, the Information Commission's Office [ICO] stated.

It also said the data breach in 2024 caused serious distress to the victim, who had moved home on several occasions.

Staffordshire Police had since made improvements including increasing completion rates for relevant training, according to the regulator. The force said it remained "committed to learning from this case".

The ICO issued the Domestic Violence Protection Notice [DVPN], an emergency measure intended to protect a victim from violence or threats of violence, in March 2024.

It added the force did not have appropriate measures to prevent an unauthorised disclosure, including "poor" completion rates for mandatory training in data protection and issuing these notices.

ICO head of investigations Sally-Anne Poole said the case was a reminder "getting the basics right is not optional".

She stated: "In this case, the very notice designed to protect them instead put them at risk and left them fearing that they would have to relocate their family once again."

The independent regulator for data protection, the ICO holds statutory powers to regulate information rights in the UK.

The ICO said Staffordshire Police had made improvements including establishing new leadership roles around domestic abuse cases.

Internal procedures had been updated to ensure address details were not in protection notices where they were not already known to the recipient, it added.

Deputy Chief Constable Caroline Marsh said Staffordshire Police fully recognised the impact "this incident had on the victim and sincerely regret the distress and disruption this caused".

She added the incident related to a notice issued in 2024 and "since it has been subject to detailed review, and has informed a significant programme of improvement".

Marsh said over 18 months the force had strengthened leadership and governance arrangements through introducing "dedicated strategic and tactical domestic abuse leads", alongside a dedicated domestic abuse chief inspector role.

She added it had enhanced its approach to risk assessment and increased scrutiny of DVPN applications, "with strengthened supervisory oversight".

Additional learning from the incident would be incorporated into future training "to reinforce the importance of protecting sensitive information", Marsh said.

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