Hertfordshire Constabulary Data Breach – Can I Claim?

By Lewis Cobain. Last Updated 13th December 2022. In this guide, we look at what a Hertfordshire Constabulary data breach could consist of. A data breach could lead to mental hardship and/or financial loss. In such cases, you may be able to make a compensation claim against the organisation that exposed your data. This guide provides information about pursuing data breach compensation for harm caused by a breach.

Hertfordshire Constabulary data breach claims guide

All claims are different, and we can only cover the basics in this guide. You may have more questions than this guide can answer. If you do, our claims line is open 24/7.

To get in touch, you can:

• Call 0800 073 8804
• Request a call back by using our contact form
• Use the live chat feature to the bottom right of this screen

Select a Section:

• What Could Be Considered A Hertfordshire Constabulary Data Breach?
• How Could Data Protection Law Be Breached By The Police?
• Hertfordshire Constabulary Data Breach Statistics
• What To Do If You Were Impacted By A Hertfordshire Constabulary Data Breach
• What Compensation Could You Claim For A Data Breach Under The UK GDPR?
• Explaining What A No Win No Fee Data Breach Solicitor Could Do To Help You
• Useful Contacts And Advice After A Data Breach

What Could Be Considered A Hertfordshire Constabulary Data Breach?

This guide will answer the question “what could be considered a data breach” in full. We entrust our personal data to a wide range of different organisations, for example, schools, social services and the local council. There are laws in place that protect this data from being exposed.

Personal data is classed as any data that can be used to identify a natural person. This can either be data that can identify them alone, or when combined with other data. In order to be classed as personal data, the information must be stored digitally or physically.

All organisations have a responsibility to protect the data that they process. The General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) is the piece of EU legislation that sets out how organisations should act to protect your personal data. In 2018, the Data Protection Act ratified this into UK law. Since leaving the EU, an updated version of this Act as well as the UK GDPR is the regime that outlines how personal data should be protected.

It’s important to note that you cannot claim just because a data breach has happened. In order to claim, you need to show that:

• The breach happened because of the failings on the part of an organisation, and
• You were caused physical and/or emotional harm as a result

If a breach happened despite the organisation in question doing all they could to protect your personal data, you would not be able to claim.

Hertfordshire Record Office – What Personal Data Could They Hold?

Personal data, as defined under the UK GDPR, is any information relating to you that may be used to identify you.

Hertfordshire Record Office may hold the following information:

• Your name;
• Address;
• Email address;
• Phone number.

They may also hold special category data, which is personal data that is considered more sensitive and thus requires extra protection. For example:

• Data concerning your racial or ethnic origin;
• Biometric data;
• Genetic data;
• Sex life;
• Sexual orientation;
• Criminal offence data, including information on any criminal activity, allegations, investigations and proceedings.

Please get in touch if you have suffered mental harm or financial loss following a police data breach. We may be able to help you get compensation.

How Could Data Protection Law Be Breached By The Police?

There are a number of different ways that a police force could expose personal data. A data breach is classed as an incident that affects the confidentiality, integrity or availability of personal data.

It’s also important that, when processing your personal data, an organisation has a lawful basis for doing so. They do not always need to have your consent to process your data (although consent is one lawful basis for processing).

Examples of a data breach could include:

• Your personal data is emailed to a person who does not have permission to have it.
• An internal document is circulated, but your personal data was not redacted when it should have been.
• Your email address is exposed in a mass email, as it was not added to the BCC list.
• Paperwork containing your data is lost or stolen because of substandard security measures.
• Digital devices are disposed of incorrectly.

If you have proof that a Hertfordshire Constabulary data breach has occurred, causing you harm, speak with an advisor today.

Hertfordshire Constabulary Data Breach Statistics

Using some statistics from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the graph below shows the cause and number of security incidents in the justice sector in the third quarter of 2021/22. The ICO is the independent regulatory authority for data protection in the UK.

Police Federation Data Breach – Case Study

In an incident that occurred in early 2019, the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) were subject to a malware attack. The association contacted the individuals who could potentially be affected ‘as a precaution’, and said they wanted to alert those whose data they held at the earliest opportunity.

The PFEW also confirmed that the ICO and the National Crime Agency (NCA) were notified, resulting in the NCA launching a criminal investigation. The NCA deals with serious and organised crime threats, such as police data protection breaches.

Speak to our advisors for free legal advice and they could put you in touch with our expert solicitors.

Source: https://www.polfed.org/wilts/news/2019/police-association-headquarters-hit-by-malware-cyber-attack/

What To Do If You Were Impacted By A Hertfordshire Constabulary Data Breach

If your data were to be exposed in a potential Hertfordshire Constabulary data breach, there are a couple of things you can do before making a claim. Firstly, you can raise your concerns with the organisation in question.

An organisation should let you know about any breach that affects your rights and freedoms without undue delay. If you’re concerned that a data breach has occurred but you have not been notified, you can raise your concerns with them.

Secondly, you can report the data breach to the ICO. However, you should do this within three months of your last meaningful communication with the organisation.

It’s important to note that the ICO cannot award you compensation. For this reason, if you’re unhappy with the response you receive, you may wish to pursue a compensation claim for the harm caused to you.

What Compensation Could You Claim For A Data Breach Under The UK GDPR?

You may be wondering how much compensation you could receive in a successful Hertfordshire Constabulary data breach claim. The compensation you receive could consist of two heads of claim. These are material and non-material damages.

You can claim for non-material damage related to the emotional or psychological harm caused to you by the breach. This head of your claim is valued with the help of guidelines produced by the Judicial College.

We have included some of these guidelines in the table below.

You might be invited to a medical assessment as part of your claim. This is where an independent expert will assess your injuries. The report that is generated as a result of this will be used to work out how much your claim is worth.

You may also be able to claim for material damage. This covers any financial loss that you experience. For example, if your credit card details were stolen, this could cover the cost of rebuilding your credit score. 

You can claim material damages and non-material damages together, or you can claim for either of them individually. For more information on how much you could receive in a data breach claim, get in touch with our team.

Explaining What A No Win No Fee Data Breach Solicitor Could Do To Help You

You can work with data breach solicitors on a No Win No Fee basis if you would like to pursue a data breach claim with legal representation. A No Win No Fee claim means no upfront fees, and no lawyer’s fee if the claim fails. Your solicitor will deduct a pre-agreed, legally limited success fee if the claim is won.

In the event that the claim is not successful, you won’t have to pay your solicitor anything at all.

Contact us using the information below for more information on when a Hertfordshire Constabulary data breach claim could be valid:

• Call 0800 073 8804
• Request a call back by using our contact form
• Use the live chat feature to the bottom right of this screen

Useful Contacts And Advice After A Data Breach

Here are some links to other guides.

• General Police Data Breach Compensation Guide
• Claiming For Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
• How To Claim For A Bank Data Breach
• Can I Claim Compensation For A Passport Data Breach?
• Travelodge Data Breach Compensation Claims
• BT Data Breach Compensation Claims
• Anglia Ruskin University Data Breach
• Virgin Mobile Data Breach Compensation Claims
• Royal Bank Of Scotland Data Breach Compensation Claims
• University Of Newcastle Data Breach Compensation Claims
• Experian Data Breach Compensation Claims
• Bedfordshire Police Data Breach
• British Transport Police Data Breach
• Human Error Data Breach Claims

And here are some useful websites.

More Detail About UK GDPR

Action Taken By The ICO

Data Survey (Business) 2020