The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) receiving a reprimand for unlawfully sharing personal data of 174 individuals with a U.S. law enforcement agency, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). This data sharing, which included details of criminal convictions and biometric data, violated the Data Protection Act and occurred between 2018 and late 2020.
The PSNI discovered the issue in 2021 and subsequently apologized to those affected. The data sharing impacted decisions on whether these individuals could visit the United States. The individuals involved are believed to include republicans and loyalists.
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK data watchdog, conducted an investigation and found that a culture had developed within the PSNI where data sharing occurred outside established procedures, and there was a lack of effective managerial oversight. The data sharing was deemed unnecessary for law enforcement purposes and therefore unlawful.
The ICO noted that the PSNI has since implemented stricter controls to prevent similar breaches. While the reprimand did not include any fines, the PSNI has acknowledged the recommendations made by the ICO and assured the public that steps have been taken to prevent a recurrence of this breach.