Humberside Police Data Breach – Can I Claim
By Megan Black. Last Updated 12th December 2022. In this guide, we look at what you could do following a potential data breach by Humberside Police.
Under data protection legislation, organisations should take measures to protect your personal data if they hold, collect or process it. If they fail to do so because of wrongful conduct, and your personal data is breached, you could claim. You’d need to show that you suffered financial loss or mental harm (or both) as a consequence of the data breach.
A guide on what you could do after a data breach by Humberside Police
Please keep in mind that we cannot possibly cover every question you may have in this single short guide. Therefore, you may need additional answers, and we can still help you with this.
Our claims team works 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and can help you if you have evidence of a valid claim. You can call them on 0800 073 8804 and they could assist you further. Or you can use our contact form to message us and we will get back to you.
Select a Section
- What Is A Data Breach By Humberside Police?
- Examples Of Ways The Police Could Breach Your Data Privacy
- Data Breach Statistics
- Action You Could Take If A Data Breach By Humberside Police Impacted You
- Data Breach Compensation – How Is Compensation Calculated?
- What Services Could No Win No Fee Data Breach Solicitors Provide?
- Get Help If A Data Breach By Humberside Police Impacted You
What Is A Data Breach By Humberside Police?
Every organisation in the UK has to follow data security and privacy laws to protect personal data. This applies to every business, charity, and government body, meaning these laws would apply to the police.
Personal data is any information that can help identify you, whether on its own or with other data. Your name, address, phone number and bank details are examples of personal information.
Special category data is a type of personal information that’s sensitive so requires more protection:
- data that reveals your philosophical or religious beliefs
- data about your health (for example, medical records)
- genetic data
- data about your sex life or your sexual orientation
- data that reveals your trade union membership
- biometric data
- data that reveals your political stances
- data that reveals your racial or ethnic origin
A personal data breach occurs when a security breach leads to the destruction of, alteration of, disclosure of, access to or loss of personal data. This can be deliberate or happen accidentally. Human error may cause it, for example.
What Regulations Apply?
The governing body responsible for enforcing data protection legislation in the UK is the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). This legislation includes the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.
Examples Of Ways The Police Could Breach Your Data Privacy
There are many ways that a data breach could occur. Below, we have given some example scenarios.
- Recorded personal data such as a video interview, is shared with an unauthorised party.
- A device containing personal data is lost or stolen, such as a USB stick or an external hard disc.
- Documents are circulated publically before your personal data has been redacted.
- Due to an ineffective information security policy, a hacker gains access to your personal data.
- Unsecured documents containing personal data are left in a place where the public can gain access to them.
- Your email address is exposed in a mass email because the BCC field was not used.
- Your data was faxed or posted to an unauthorised party who accessed it.
Data Breach Statistics
The ICO releases quarterly statistics on data breaches in different sectors. These data security incident trends reveal that:
- In the justice sector, in the 3rd quarter of 2021/22, there were 5 reported instances of loss/theft of paperwork or data left in insecure location.
- In the legal sector during this time there were 52 reported instances of data being emailed to an incorrect recipient.
- During the same period, in the health sector, 96 reported instances of unauthorised access occurred.
Action You Could Take If A Data Breach By Humberside Police Impacted You
There are a number of measures you could take after a data breach by Humberside Police. After a data breach, the steps you take depend on whether you’ve been made aware of the breach already or whether you’re concerned that one has occurred.
If you’re not sure whether a data breach has occurred but you’re concerned about personal data practices in an organisation, you can contact them directly. If the response is unsatisfactory, you could contact the ICO. They could investigate. However, you’d need to report the potential data breach to them before 3 months have passed from the date of the police’s final meaningful response. If you raise your concerns later, it could affect the ICO’s decision on the matter.
When a data breach risks your rights and freedoms, the organisation has to let you know about it. They also need to let the ICO know within 72 hours. Many people hear about data breaches from the organisation rather than discover the breach themselves.
lf you find that wrongful conduct (on the part of the organisation holding or processing your data) caused the breach, it could lead to a claim. You’d need to show how you were impacted financially or psychologically in order to make a successful claim.
Data Breach Compensation – How Is Compensation Calculated?
You may be wondering, ‘how is compensation calculated in data breach claims?’. Personal data breach compensation will differ from case to case. This is because the various factors affecting your claim will impact how much you could be awarded.
You could make a claim for material and non-material damage. Any mental harm you suffered due to the personal data breach is referred to as non-material damage. For example, you may have been diagnosed with anxiety or depression due to a data breach.
We have created the following table to help you understand how much you could receive for non-material damage following a personal data breach. The compensation examples listed have been taken from the most recent edition of the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG), updated April 2022. Many legal professionals will use this document to help them value claims as it assigns compensation amounts to different physical and psychological injuries. However, only use this table as a guide, as the amounts are not guaranteed.
| Type of Harm | Comments | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Psychological harm | Severe – The person will struggle to cope with social and working life. The prognosis is poor and they will experience future vulnerability. | £54,830 to £115,730 |
| Psychological harm | Moderately severe – Despite a more optimistic prognosis, the person will still suffer significantly with various problems. | £19,070 to £54,830 |
| Psychological harm | Moderate – Prognosis will be good and the person will display marked improvements. | £5,860 to £19,070 |
| Psychological harm | Less severe – How much sleep and other activities were impacted, as well as the duration the person suffered for will be taken into account. | £1,540 to £5,860 |
| Anxiety Disorder | Severe – All aspects of life will be negatively impacted and the person will suffer from permanent problems. | £59,860 to £100,670 |
| Anxiety Disorder | Moderately severe – The person is likely to suffer with significant problems for a while, however with professional help there is room for some recovery. | £23,150 to £59,860 |
| Anxiety Disorder | Moderate – The person will have largely recovered. | £8,180 to £23,150 |
| Anxiety Disorder | Less severe – Within two years the person will have virtually fully recovered. | £3,950 to £8,180 |
Material damage is any of the financial losses you have suffered due to a personal data breach. For example, you may have had money stolen from your bank account if your banking details were compromised in a data breach. Providing evidence of these financial losses, such as bank statements, could help you with your claim.
Contact our advisors today if you would like to discuss what could be included in a data breach compensation amount in the UK.
What Services Could No Win No Fee Data Breach Solicitors Provide?
You may be able to make a No Win No Fee claim if you have evidence of a valid claim following a data breach by Humberside Police. Under a No Win No Fee agreement, or Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), you don’t pay the solicitor’s fee until the claim has been won. The solicitor would deduct a success fee from the compensation, but it is capped to a small percentage by law. You’d discuss this with the solicitor before you agree to use their services.
If the claim loses, you don’t have to pay the solicitor’s fee at all.
If you have proof that could justify a claim, use the information below to contact our team.
- Telephone: 0800 073 8804
- Email: info@legalexpert.co.uk
- Or use our web contact form
Get Help If A Data Breach By Humberside Police Impacted You
Here are some related sources that could be helpful for you.
Here are some other useful claims guides.
- Police Data Breach Compensation Claims Guide
- School Data Breach Compensation Claims Guide
- Employer Personal Data Breach Compensation Claims Guide
- Sickness At Work Data Breach Compensation Claims
- UK GDPR Breach Compensation Claims
- Child Custody Data Breach Claims
- Estate Agent Data Breach Claims
- Discrimination Data Breach Claims
Should you have evidence that justifies a claim following a data breach by Humberside Police, why not reach out?
Written by Wheeler
Edited by Victorine
