Royal Ulster Constabulary

The personal details of Northern Ireland's main police force have been leaked – three reasons why that's incredibly dangerous

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, August 10, 2023
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But depending on the nature of the data leaked and the organisation, some breaches can be more serious and have greater consequences than others.

Key Points: 
  • But depending on the nature of the data leaked and the organisation, some breaches can be more serious and have greater consequences than others.
  • This is certainly true of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), which has accidentally published information about all its police officers and civilian personnel in response to a freedom of information (FoI) request.
  • It has been reported that the spreadsheet contained approximately 345,000 pieces of data relating to every police officer.

1. Risking violence

    • The most immediate problem is that the personal information of serving police officers is now potentially in the public domain.
    • This raises the question of who might have accessed this information and what they might do with it.
    • Today’s levels of violence in the north of Ireland are incomparable to the past but the threat of violence against serving police officers remains.
    • To them, PSNI officers represent “legitimate targets” because they uphold the constitutional status quo of post-Good Friday agreement Northern Ireland.

2. Stoking community tensions

    • Anyone from this background within the PSNI is unlikely to tell anyone beyond their closest family and friends what their job is.
    • This is partly because of the security threat but also because of the problematic relationship their community had with the PSNI’s predecessor force, the Royal Ulster Constabulary.

3. Reviving unresolved grievances

    • The force passed the personal details of nationalists to state agents within loyalist groups, who are accused of then murdering them.
    • This remains at the core of grievances over state collusion during the Troubles.

Investigation of Former Armed Forces Personnel Who Served in Northern Ireland

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, March 19, 2019
Royal Ulster Constabulary, The Troubles, Northern Ireland, Military of the United Kingdom, Military history of Northern Ireland, Military, Operation Banner, United Kingdom, Operation Temperer, RUC booby-trap bombing

Tuesday, March 19, 2019The investigation of former British soldiers who served in Northern Ireland during “The Troubles” is currently receiving a significant amount of media and parliamentary attention as a result of several ongoing court cases. It is, however, the result of a process which began over a decade ago.

Key Points: 


House of Commons Library

Investigation of Former Armed Forces Personnel Who Served in Northern Ireland

  • Operation Banner in Northern Ireland was the longest continuous deployment of Armed Forces personnel in British military history.
  • The Rules of Engagement for personnel serving in Northern Ireland were contained in what was commonly referred to as The Yellow Card.
  • Prosecutions of Armed Forces personnel during the Troubles Any fatalities involving the Armed Forces were investigated by the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) at the time and, in some cases, prosecutions were brought against military personnel.