Police privacy breach puts DV survivors’ lives at risk
Andrew Stafford |
Police leaked personal information that put the lives of domestic and family violence victims at risk contrary to their legal obligations, according to a report tabled in parliament.
Queensland’s Information Commissioner, Joanne Kummrow said in her report Queensland Police’s policies, procedures and systems had failed at both a technical and administrative level.
The commission said on Wednesday the Queensland Police Service had contravened the Information Privacy Act, but would not issue a compliance notice after being satisfied it had taken steps to prevent further breaches.
The security breach was revealed on July 25, 2024 when media reported police had disclosed the address of a domestic and family violence victim to an offender.
The following day, the former acting deputy commissioner informed a parliamentary estimates committee that the disclosure had occurred due to a systems error.
It was found the Queensland Police Records and Information Management Exchange (QPrime) system had automatically imported the information into forms police provided to offenders and presented in court.
The Information Commissioner’s report said Queensland Police had been aware of the privacy risks associated with QPRIME’s auto-population function since at least 2017 and had been slow to mitigate those risks.
The report concluded that the service needed to improve the transparency of its privacy complaint handling and take a more victim-centric approach to ensure that victims were aware of their privacy rights.
It further said that the Queensland Police Service did not have adequate safeguards to protect the personal information it was handling, and used that personal information beyond what was directly relevant to its specific purpose.
Ms Kummrow said the privacy breach risked further physical and psychological harm to victim survivors from perpetrators of domestic and family violence.
“While the disclosure of victims’ addresses to offenders by the QPS was unintentional, prioritising privacy is paramount in keeping victims safe from further harm,” she said.
The report acknowledged that since August 2024, Queensland Police had made a concerted effort to implement solutions to mitigate the risk of further unauthorised disclosures and Ms Kummrow “determined it was not necessary to issue the QPS with a compliance notice”.
Queensland Police were contacted for comment but did not respond by deadline.
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AAP
