Thames Valley Police – Violation Found (United Kingdom, 2023)
General GDPR enforcement action
This case relates to broader data protection obligations, not specifically to cookie or consent banner compliance. It is not included in cookie statistics or the Risk Calculator.
Thames Valley Police mistakenly shared a witness's address, causing them to move due to safety concerns. This happened because officers weren't properly trained on how to handle sensitive information. The UK's Information Commissioner's Office reprimanded the police and recommended better training to prevent future incidents.
What happened
Thames Valley Police disclosed a witness's address due to inadequate training on information redaction.
Who was affected
A witness whose address was mistakenly shared, leading to a high risk to their safety.
What the authority found
The Information Commissioner's Office found that Thames Valley Police lacked proper training and oversight for handling sensitive information.
Why this matters
This case highlights the importance of training staff on data protection to prevent accidental disclosures. Organizations should ensure their employees understand and follow data handling policies to protect individuals' privacy.
Source checks
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Automated check recorded — 20 March 2026.
Processing notes: articles corrected, national law identified.
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TVP have inappropriately disclosed contextual information that led to suspected criminals learning the address of a witness (the data subject). As a result of this incident, the data subject has moved address and the impact and risk to the data subject remains high. This incident occurred because TVP did not have the appropriate organisational measures in place to ensure that their officers were aware of existing guidance around disclosure and redactions. TVP have been unable to evidence that the officer who responded to the information request from the housing authority had received redaction training or was aware of existing policies around sharing information. Further to this, there was no oversight of the redaction process as TVP thought that the officer in question had sufficient experience to complete the redactions. The Commissioner has decided to issue a reprimand to TVP and further action is recommended to ensure compliance with the DPA2018.
Outcome
Violation Found
The DPA found a violation but did not impose a fine.
Related Enforcement Actions (0)
No other enforcement actions found for Thames Valley Police in UK
This is the only recorded action for this entity in this jurisdiction.
Details
About this data
Cite as: Cookie Fines. Thames Valley Police - United Kingdom (2023). Retrieved from cookiefines.eu
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