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The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has acknowledged that the names of certain officers, initially exposed in a 2023 data breach, were subsequently published on the Northern Ireland Courts website. This development has raised significant concerns, prompting the Department of Justice (DoJ) to intervene promptly by removing the court lists from the public domain online.
According to the PSNI, the officers’ names appeared on the court site as a result of information provided by the legal representatives handling compensation cases related to the earlier breach. Reports indicate that the number of officers involved runs into the dozens. Many of these officers are currently seeking damages from the police service due to the previous exposure of their personal details.
Jon Burrows, leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) and a former police officer, expressed his alarm over the situation, highlighting that the names of 41 officers were available on the NI Courts website as of Tuesday evening. Speaking on the Stephen Nolan Show, Burrows revealed that the information had been widely circulated on WhatsApp, where the message was marked as “forwarded many times.” He called for an investigation into how these details were disseminated and emphasized the need to learn lessons from the incident. Burrows has also submitted an urgent oral question to Stormont for discussion and urged Justice Minister Naomi Long to clarify the circumstances surrounding the leak. He stressed the importance of implementing stronger measures to safeguard officers and their families moving forward.
In response, the Department of Justice explained that court details, excluding family proceedings, are typically made public online unless a court issues specific directions upon request by legal parties. The responsibility for applying for any restrictions lies with the legal representatives or parties involved. The DoJ confirmed swift action was taken to take the court lists offline at around 8:30 pm on 3 February, restoring them the following morning after the lists had been updated.
This recent episode echoes the 2023 data breach when confidential officer information was released online, triggering widespread distress, especially since many PSNI officers—particularly from nationalist backgrounds—maintain secrecy about their employment due to the sensitive security environment in Northern Ireland. Following that breach, the PSNI issued an apology, and a compensation package was established, offering affected officers £7,500 each. This was made possible after Stormont allocated £119 million in December to cover claims related to the data breach
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