Welcome to the ICO's July 2026 public advice e-newsletter
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Public advice newsletter

Welcome to the August edition of our public advice newsletter, where you can find out more about the action we’re taking to protect the public from nuisance marketing and wider data protection issues.
The statue of Justice on top of the Old Bailey in London. The text reads: "GUILTY: Police investigator fined after unlawfully obtaining sensitive case details."

An investigator for the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has pleaded guilty to unlawfully obtaining sensitive personal data.

Mohammed Ejaz, 42, from Bradford worked for the IOPC, which is responsible for investigating the most serious complaints and conduct matters involving the police. This includes cases where there is an indication that police contact (direct or indirect) may have caused or contributed to a death. 

You can read more about the investigation on our website.
 
Family polaroids. The faces of each person has been redacted. The text reads: "Scottish charity Birthlink fined £18,000 for destroying adoption records.""

Stepping up scrutiny of police use of facial recognition technology

Few technologies are having as great an impact on modern policing as facial recognition technology (FRT). It can bring clear benefits in helping to prevent and detect crime, but it comes with real risks to people’s rights and freedoms – such as the potential for discrimination and misidentification – if not used responsibly. 

We are conducting a series of audits of police forces who have been early adopters of FRT across England and Wales. We published the first audit summary which looked at South Wales Police and Gwent Police.

We are encouraged by the audit findings, which provide a high level of assurance that the processes and procedures currently in place at South Wales Police and Gwent Police are compliant with data protection law. 

As FRT is used more widely, we continue to engage with police forces on appropriate safeguards and set out clear expectations for its use.
FRT use should be proportionate and rights-respecting
Read more about our findings
Family polaroids. The faces of each person has been redacted. The text reads: "Scottish charity Birthlink fined £18,000 for destroying adoption records."

We fined Birthlink £18,000 after it unlawfully destroyed thousands of personal records, including birth certificates and letters, to free up filing cabinet space. 

In total around 4,800 records were destroyed and some of these records were irreplaceable. Birthlink admitted it lacked proper data protection training at the time. 

Personal data is not just paperwork—it’s deeply personal. We took action to hold Birthlink accountable and remind all organisations: mishandling sensitive information has serious consequences.
Data breaches can have far-reaching effects - read more
A police hi-vis jacket. The text reads: "Police force reprimanded after deleting over 96,000 pieces of body-worn video evidence."

Our investigation found South Yorkshire Police did not have the appropriate technical and organisational measures in place to keep the evidence secure.

The loss included data relating to 126 criminal cases, even though only three of the cases were impacted by the loss.
People rightly have high expectations of the police - read more
Information Commissioner's Office
Registered office: Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF
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