Details of dozens of people who have tipped off police about drugs have been stolen from a detective’s home, the M.E.N. can reveal.
They were on a memory stick – which was not password protected or encrypted – that was taken from the officer’s wallet after he left his back door open. The detective has now been suspended.
Police are now contacting all those whose names were on the list. It is understood they are not regular police informants but members of the public who have passed on sensitive allegations about drug-dealing to the cops.
The memory stick is also believed to have included details of previous police anti-drug operations, potential targets for arrest, and officers’ names.
It was taken from the detective’s home in Grotton, Oldham, during a burglary 11 days ago.
The intruder walked into the house through the open back door and took the wallet and keys to the policeman’s black Volkswagen Golf, which was also stolen.
Twenty police officers were called to the scene and frantically combed the house and gardens.
An internal probe is now underway into how such sensitive information came to be on an unprotected memory stick in his house. Greater Manchester Police has held high-level ‘gold’ meetings, conducted by an assistant chief constable, to discuss the blunder.
One senior source said: "There is loads of stuff on the memory stick and the level at which meetings are taking place gives an indication of how significant the information is."
GMP declined to give details of the officer’s rank or position. But it is understood he works for the force-wide drugs squad – part of the serious crime division.
Det Chief Supt Dave Keller said: "A criminal investigation to recover the memory stick is ongoing and the force’s professional standards branch is carrying out a separate inquiry into the officer’s conduct.
"Greater Manchester Police is reinforcing to officers and staff the importance of keeping information secure at all times.We expect all officers and staff to adhere to rigorous standards with regard to confidential and sensitive documents.
"We have referred the incident to the Independent Police Complaints Commission and the Information Commissioner."
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this isnt going to do much good for public / police relations. its a joke in this day and age, considering how simple it is to encrpyt data, that those we trust with sensitive information, are only interested in getting thier hands on the information, and couldnt care less about joe public afterwards, (other notable case being sony).
Nobody wants to end up being a witness as it is, and this has helped me justify to myself why i already hang up the phone after reporting anything to the police.
What an idiot! But 20 police officers? we're lucky if we get one comming round after an incident.
So have they let those people on the memory stick know that they might have been endangered by the incompetence of the Police?
Why is any public servant allowed to take data away from a place of work? We know that they want to look 'good' by taking work home with them, although how much is done is anyones guess. It's not possible to access the main computer system from anywhere except internal hard wired terminals, because IT people are so scared of hacking and other data loss issues, so the data is removed by way of lap tops, or memory sticks.
It's not that long since GMP computers were infected with a virus after someone plugged a memory stick into a terminal. We were promised at the time that the use of memory sticks would be banned, clearly they lied to us, and now they're left with egg on their faces - again. I'd love to know why they didn't keep to the promises they made last time.
after a long enquiry the detective was found to have took the stick home by mistake and was reinstated with out charge,, so let's draw a line under this incident,,,,some months latter he was forced to retire on medical grounds ,, drew a 90k lump some,, and weekly pension and is currently living abroad ,,,,, another old chestnut
How on earth can a detective who, by the nature of his job alone, is no probationer, making such basic errors? There may be a valid reason for him to take it home with him although I'm struggling to think of one, but why wasn't it password protected or encrypted, which is surely a breach of the Data Protection Act? Hopefully, and it might be in vain, the thief has dumped the stick before he realised just what it contained. Fahy might have been right when he said the level of corruption in GMP is low, but the level of incompetence seems abnormally high.
Am opportunist thief just decides to enter the house and take one item, a memory stick with sensitive info then the car. ??????????
What a 'memory stick' the detective is. Why wasn't the memory stick under lock and key in the police station?
You have to ask yourself, why does a copper bring a memory stick into work, transfer confidential information and then takes it home. Glad he's suspended. I wonder just what other information has been removed unauthorised from GMP IT systems and now languishes on someone's living room computer?
If your name is on that memory stick
- " Be afraid be very afraid..."
Isn't it strange how a professional police officer just happens to leave his back door open and his wallet available for thieves ? I would never trust the police. It reminds me of the reported case of a salford sergeant who once set off the burglar alarms to shops and then robbed them after he had arranged for them to be turned off. Since that case a number of years ago and others that have been reported, I would never trust the police.
Absolutely incomprehensible!
Given the sensitive nature of the information contained on the memory stick, it beggars belief that such a lax attitude to its security was displayed.
You have to wonder about articles like this...!
The thief probably would have just thrown the pen drive away, he hadn't set out to find it and even if he'd looked at it, it probably wouldn't have meant anything.
But now, thanks to this report! It has some value and can be sold to the highest bidder!
I'm not believing a word of it. It's a pre-emptive strike...
were these police informants...or what...and were they being paid for informing, now isn't that what `News International' are alleged to have been doing.....funny old world....
Why hasn't the I.T. department insisted on locked-down desktop's to prevent USB memory stick usage?
USB and local user administrator privileges are completely restricted is most commercial organisations, due to the sensitivity of data. Surely personal data is even most sensitive than most commercial data.
Yet again, unfortunately, the news demonstrates how vital it is to encrypt data on the move, and how often this is overlooked even in the most vital situations.
Had the officer used a solution which permits remote wiping functionality combined with access logging then this problem would literally not exist.
This isn't just about this officer. It reflects very badly on who is supervising the officer and force policies or lack of them. By all means investigate the officers conduct but make sure you also address the failings in supervision/leadership and policies.
Would just like to thank MEN for bringing this to our attention .... and the attention of every criminal in Manchester! I know you just love to publish stories encouraging us all to 'have a go' at the Police but come on .... through printing this you could be putting someone at risk. Not only that but maybe just maybe the person who committed this burglary did not realise that (a) he had broke into a Coppers house and (b) what exactly he had stolen .... well thanks to you ... he does now!
This is the kind of story that puts the public trust in police back 10 years when it comes to intelligence and trustworthiness.
The IT manager for the systems where the memory sticks are attached and who provided it should be sacked. An memory device should never have been provided in an unencrypted format. If however, it was not issued by the police then the office in question should be sacked.
Wish i could get 20 officers to respond when i report a crime. Lucky to even get a reply !!!
Bet they make more effort on this case than when my wallet disappeared in similar circumstances.
I've just been out in the car and stopped twice, in two different towns, for spot checks by the Police.
Clearly they have solved crime and haven't got enough to do, other than inconvenience innocent motorists. Mind you the other day I was saying that GMP would be picking on motorists to boost their diminished funds, it looks like I was correct.
Incidently there was nothing wrong with my car so no prosecutions no advice, and an apology for the inconvenience.
20 Police officers arrived at the scene! Absolutely bloody disgusting! And they wonder why they get stick! I was burgled in 2009, & I am STILL waiting for the police to arrive. ...shame on you Mr Policeman for leaving the back door open of your posh little pad in Grotton. You won't do that again will you! Hahahahahahahahahaha! Can't stop laughing! 20 police officers! 20 Police officers!
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/burglars-steal-sensitive-police-memory-stick-2327399.html
"I want to stress that we do not believe the officer's home was deliberately targeted, but that this was an opportunistic burglary.
"I also want to make it clear that any suggestion this memory stick contained lists of names of people who 'tipped off' police is inaccurate.
"We know what is on the device because the officer has told us, and so far we have only had to speak to one member of the public whose personal information may have been compromised."
So they are saying this detective, brings his work home with him and not keeping it in a safe lock up at home. Or before he leaves work he doesn't place it in a safe place in the office. Lets hope the fine upstart criminal returns said memory stick with all the information intact and nothing gets done. Because frankly this shows how dimwitted or maybe endemic, on the nature of keeping secret document in the hands lazy minded individuals in authority.