A police officer says he has made the “devastating” decision to leave Northern Ireland after accidental breaches of internal data revealed the identities of officers and staff.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) mistakenly shared details about 10,000 of its employees on Tuesday.
Details of a second data breach from July then emerged.
The officer, who is not being named for security reasons, said the data breach was “the straw broke the camel’s back”,
“My wife feels she is no longer comfortable in Northern Ireland,” he told BBC News NI.
“It’s just not a place going forward that I have confidence or trust in any more – it’s been absolutely disastrous.”
The officer, who is a Catholic said he had had to calculate the upset of uprooting his children against the safety risks of remaining in Northern Ireland.
Catholic officers have often been targeted by republican paramilitaries – which want to discourage Catholics from joining the police.
More than 300 officers from all backgrounds were murdered during the 30 years of violence in Northern Ireland known as the Troubles.
“It’s like you’re being forced to go but nobody is really forcing you – you’re making that decision yourself,” the officer said.
“I’m from a Catholic nationalist background and I never really refer to myself as that if I’m honest, but I’m from a fairly moderate background and I like to police as per how policing should be,” he said.
“I’ve given it chance over chance over the years where I’ve seen things happen in the media and I think it’s just time for me to step out.”
PSNI Chief Constable Simon Byrne has apologised for the breaches.
The officer said he had confidence in the chief constable and believed Mr Byrne had brought “huge changes” to the force.
The Catholic Police Guild, which represents some Catholic PSNI members, said the PSNI must take account of the “particular sensitivities” of Catholic members.
Its chairman Supt Gerry Murray said he was seeking an urgent meeting with the chief constable.
A PSNI unit has been set up to support staff affected by the security breaches and had already received more than 600 referrals by Thursday evening.
Mr Byrne said he had spoken to his officers and staff and had realised that some were “anxious, frustrated and really, really angry”.
“You can only imagine the unconscionable horror as people start to realise that maybe a loved one is put in jeopardy by what they are seeing,” he said.
‘Monumental cock up’
The data breaches caused shock among officers, many of whom try not to reveal their occupation to people, including their friends and family, due to security reasons.
In the most recent major attack in February, an off-duty senior detective suffered life-changing injuries after being shot several times by dissident republican paramilitaries.
Dissident republicans have claimed they have obtained the data leaked, but the PSNI said it had not been able to verify that claim.
An ex-officer whose husband is still in the force told the BBC the breach was a “monumental cock up” which floored her family.
The woman left the police due to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
She told the BBC she could not sleep after news broke about the breaches, and that her medication had been increased.
The former officer, who the BBC is not naming for security reasons, said she found out about them via WhatsApp.
“The first I heard about it was the other day on WhatsApp before my husband had even got in from work. I told him [about the breaches] – which is ridiculous, bearing in mind I’m retired now,” she said.
Image source, PA Media
Chief Constable Simon Byrne said he had spoken to officers and staff and realised some were anxious, frustrated and angry
The woman said she retired from the force due to PTSD from incidents experienced in the course of her job.
“I served for many, many years in some volatile areas and took my personal safety very seriously. Even to this day I still check under my car,” she said.
The retired officer said the news had heightened her fears for herself and her family.
“We were always looking over our shoulder but now even more so. I didn’t sleep on Tuesday night. I really wasn’t very good at all.
“I had to go back to my doctor – they prescribed me more diazepam.
“It’s just the impact – all of a sudden I feel like I’m back in the job again and that really isn’t good for me.”
‘I feel exposed’
Another serving officer told the BBC’s Today programme he felt let down by the PSNI, exposed and vulnerable.
The officer, who is originally from England, said that with access to his surname, “it wouldn’t take much to track myself or my wife and children down”.
“If it gets into the hands of [dissident republicans], then that’s where the most damage will be caused,” he said.
The officer said he also suffered with PTSD and since news of the data breaches his symptoms including sleepless nights, paranoia, and anxiety had all worsened.
The information appeared online for three hours on Tuesday and led to the PSNI updating security advice to its officers and staff.
The surname and first initial of every employee, their rank or grade, where they are based and the unit they work in, including sensitive areas such as surveillance and intelligence, were included.
Information about the second data breach, involving the theft of a spreadsheet with the names of 200 officers and staff, emerged on Wednesday.
The PSNI said documents, along with a police-issue laptop and radio, were believed to have been stolen from a private vehicle in Newtownabbey, County Antrim, on 6 July.
Tracey Godfrey from the union NIPSA, which represents some PSNI civilian staff, said members were seeking reassurance from her.
“I am able to give that because processes have been put in place but it’s the long-term effect that we are having to look at,” she said.
The Police Federation for Northern Ireland said 1,500 officers had registered an interest for officers to register an interest in the event that legal action is taken over the data breach.
