Surrey Police – Reprimand (United Kingdom, 2023)

In June 2020, the ICO became aware that staff members across both Sussex Police and Surrey Police had access to an app that recorded all incoming and outgoing phone calls. 1,015 staff members downloaded the app onto their work mobile phones and more than 200,000 recordings of phone conversations, likely with victims, witnesses, and perpetrators of suspected crimes, were automatically saved. The ICO considered it highly likely that the app captured a large variety of personal data during these calls and it considered that the processing of some of this data was unfair and unlawful. Police officers that downloaded the app were unaware that all calls would be recorded, and people were not informed that their conversations with officers were being recorded. The app has now been withdrawn from use and the recordings, other than those considered to be evidential material, have been destroyed.