A total of 74 officers from the Northern Ireland Police Service have been penalised for improperly accessing video footage from body-cams. The actions were prompted by an investigation conducted by the Police Ombudsman, which revealed that the officers viewed the footage, which illustrated an error made by an officer during an arrest for drug possession, without a valid reason related to official police business.
The video, which included a fellow officer laughing in the background and an error in delivering a suspect’s caution, was accessed 248 times by 82 officers and one civilian staff member across twenty police stations in Northern Ireland from December 2019 to November 2022.
Access frequency varied amongst officers, with some only viewing it a couple of times and others, including one officer, viewing it up to 21 times. Of the viewers in question, only five officers and one civilian staff member had a legitimate reason for accessing the footage.
In the investigation’s conclusion, the Police Ombudsman found that 74 officers had no valid reason for viewing the video. Two of those officers have since retired and therefore cannot be held accountable. Furthermore, a separate investigation concerning potential unlawful behaviour related to viewing the footage is ongoing for one other officer.
This issue emerged as part of an ongoing Police Ombudsman investigation into another matter that necessitated an examination of the Northern Ireland Police Service body-cam system.
The CEO of the Police Ombudsman’s Office, Hugh Hume, criticized the officers who viewed the footage for amusement, stating that they showed little consideration for the privacy of the person being arrested or the emotional welfare of their colleague in the video. The responses from officers indicated that many were unaware that this could constitute a criminal or misconduct offence.
Hugh Hume welcomed the steps taken by the PSNI against the 74 officers involved, describing it as “reasonable and proportionate”. He also appreciated the PSNI’s acceptance of three recommendations from the Police Ombudsman to prevent future misuse of body-cam footage.
Despite expressing reservations over the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) not agreeing to the fourth suggestion for a random test to assess the extent of unauthorised intrusion into the body camera system, he conveyed his apprehension. He highlighted that in light of the laxity in controlling the access to body cameras, it has resulted in an increased underlying risk of unauthorised access to confidential and personal data without any valid police justification.
He articulated that in this particular circumstance, the Police Ombudsman has made the extraordinary decision to share their discoveries with the Information Commissioner’s Office. This was done to investigate if these findings could prove valuable to their operations.
PSNI Deputy Chief Constable, Chris Todd reinforced that the Northern Ireland Police Service mandates all its staff to act professionally, with ethics and complete integrity at all times. He stated that any questioned behaviour that does not meet their high standards should be investigated impartially by the Police Ombudsman’s office.
He clarified that the Northern Ireland Police Service consented to three of the proposed recommendations from the Police Ombudsman’s investigation for this case. He explained that the police service has implemented several steps to ensure officers understand their legislative obligations relating to the appropriate use and data protection impacts when reviewing body camera footage. Access to the body camera footage would need a justifiable legal reason.
He enlightened that they have also recently introduced added safety measures, including frequent random checks by line managers and independent review through their just established service accountability panel. He was confident that these measures achieved the same final outcome as desired by the Ombudsman’s fourth recommendation.
He concluded, stating that subsequent to the PONI investigation verdict, the appropriate management action was implemented by the police service and the protocols and policies related to accessing the body camera footage will continue to be reviewed.